


Clementine & Louis One-shots

by xscullyx



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Clouis, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 23:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17817578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xscullyx/pseuds/xscullyx
Summary: Little stories about our favourite apocalypse couple ;)💚Contains fluff and angst





	1. If We Have Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis listens in on a tender moment between Clementine and AJ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Welcome to my one-shots book! Future chapters will depict violence (there is no smut so if you were here for that soz).  
> If you wish to request a fic you can comment one or find me on Tumblr @xscullyx!  
> Enjoy :)

It was another late night for her, trying to rebuild this boarding school was proving to be harder than originally thought. Clementine tried to rub out the growing knot in her shoulder as she wandered to her room, the past two weeks had been relentless, to say the least. The other kids were starting to grow anxious, they thought Lily would have attacked by now. What was taking them so long? Were they trying to psyche everyone out? Well, it was certainly starting to work.

"Hey, Clem."

Despite the soft tone, it took Clementine by surprise as she closed the door behind her. "What are you still doing awake kiddo?"

AJ played with a loose thread on the blanket. He had huddled himself into the corner of the room. "I couldn't sleep." Clementine knew there was something on his mind, he's usually a calm sleeper otherwise. "What's wrong AJ?" She kneeled down next to the bed and tried to catch his eye. "Did you have a bad dream?"

AJ slowly looked up at her, he didn't appear sad, more worried than anything else. "It's just...I thought the Raiders would have been here by now. What if they attack us during the night while everyone is sleeping? Someone has to stay awake, to protect everyone."

Clementine raised an eyebrow. "And that person is you?" AJ helplessly shrugged. It hurt her deep down to know of the horrors that AJ kept to himself. When she was his age all that concerned her was colouring within the lines, not an oncoming group ready to kill anyone that stood in their way. "You have nothing to worry about AJ, I know it seems scary, but I'm here for you. We're all here for each other. I can promise that nothing bad will happen to you, or anyone."

It was all AJ needed to hear. The smile that dawned on him made Clementine feel warm and fuzzy. It's all she could hope for him, that he would grow up happy and safe. "Clem...is it okay if you sing me to sleep? Like you used to when I was little."

Clementine remembered the nights when AJ was a little tyke, the sound of walkers and distant gunfire would keep him awake and often made him cry. Singing was how she calmed him down, it started off as just humming but she started to sing songs that she heard when she was younger or ones that she picked up whilst on the road. "Sure," AJ eagerly scooched out from the corner and laid down on the soft sheets. "I've only heard this song a couple of times, so hopefully I can remember the words."

**-**

His own humming kept him company as he strolled down the dark hallway, the moonlight casting crazy shadows on the walls. Louis was finalizing this song he had been writing the past week, it helped keep his mind off of...everything really. The raiders, the neverending arguments, Marlon.

_Fuck_

He could still hear his voice inside his head, there was no peace. Not after what AJ did. Louis felt guilty for having negative thoughts about the little dude's actions, there was this conflict between his head and his heart. His head was screaming  _'he murdered your best friend! Clementine is a psychopath for trusting a child with a gun!'_  but his heart whispered  _'he thought she was in danger, and what Marlon did was inexcusable. Clementine didn't tell him to shoot anyone...'_

It was a difficult struggle, to say the least.

He had almost walked by Clementine's door when he noticed a soft noise coming from inside. He whipped his head around as he tried to piece together what he was hearing.

_"She'd never be alone_

_Have someone to hold."_

Oh my god...

_"And when nights were cold_

_She'd say,"_

...Clementine was...singing?

_"The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad_

_If we got each other, and that's all we have_

_I will be your mother, and I'll hold your hand_

_You should know I'll be there for you"._

It was imperfect and yet totally perfect at the same time. She was clearly a Soprano, which took Louis by great surprise, considering the gruff nature of her voice. He tip-toed closer to the door, his mind already becoming addicted to her voice.

_"When the world's not perfect_

_When the world's not kind_

_If we have each other then we'll both be fine_

_I will be your mother, and I'll hold your hand_

_You should know I'll be there for you."_

Louis leaned his head against the cold door, taking in this moment. Part of him felt as if he was intruding. If Clementine knew he was listening she would kick his ass to kingdom come. But who knows when he would get the chance to hear this again, no way would she sing for anyone but AJ.

AJ.

"Shit," Louis whispered. Complete and utter guilt hit him like a truck, all of the cruel glares and snarky remarks flew through his brain like poison. AJ was but a child, growing up in a world where being on the defence is the norm. To be anything else is suicide.

_"They were 90 and were living out their days_

_On the West-side of the city next to where they got engaged_

_They had pictures on the walls of all the memories that they'd made_

_And though life was never easy, they were thankful that they stayed."_

Louis couldn't help but smile greatly. The lyrics resonated with him, he was glad that Clementine came back. He honestly thought that she was dead, after that encounter with the man and the woman in the woods. Seeing her come back to Ericson, carrying AJ with all her might, felt like a sign to him. As if she were some guardian angel, she was beautiful like one. Her determination to AJ was astounding, she had so much faith in him even after recognising his mistake.

Louis slowly backed up from the door. His heart was beating so fast, his brain so goddamn inspired right now. He decided that tomorrow he would talk to her, explain himself and ask for forgiveness. For the first time in two weeks, his brain and his heart felt at peace. AJ was never and will never be a bad person, not as long as Clementine is watching over him.


	2. The Way I Feel Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis recounts his past to Clementine and plays for her a song that means the world to him.

This song held a special place in his heart. As a young boy, his father would always be singing this song at some point throughout the day. It was one of the first songs Louis learned to play on the piano, he wanted to surprise his father for his birthday. Now with the state the world is in, it's how he grounds himself after a particularly stressful day.

The sudden knocking made Louis jump, he is usually left alone by the others when he plays the piano, it's odd whenever someone interrupts.

"Hey Louis," the sweet golden-eyed girl poked her head through the door with a small smile on her face.

"Oh my darling Clementine," Louis said in a singsong manner. "What can I do you for?"

"Just thought I'd come and say hi. You were awfully quiet this morning," Louis's goofy nature was instantly missed at breakfast by everyone. Of course, they knew he had a valid reason to be quiet, except for Clementine. "Is everything okay?"

Louis smiled at her concern. It made the butterflies in his stomach do a little dance. "Yeah I'm fine, today is just a difficult day for me. Well, not difficult per se..." He didn't know where to begin on why this day, this one fucking day, was a cause of reflection for him.

Clementine took a seat next to him on the piano stool. Their shoulders brushed together and Louis could have sworn he felt...something. This wouldn't be the first time there had been chemistry between him and Clem. Little moments that both of them were too embarrassed about to bring up.

"You can talk to me, Louis. What's the matter?" Clementine just wanted to see that toothy smile of his again. She knew that it must be serious if it's gotten him this silent.

Louis pressed a key on the piano, the deep sound echoing around the room. "It's my dads birthday," He looked at Clementine and saw that she was listening intently. "It's not a bad day, just makes me miss him. My mum died when I was a kid and he raised me all by himself. I often wonder what's happened to him. If he's still alive or a walker...I don't know." Louis viciously rubbed his watery eyes.

Clementine began to softly rub his shoulder. "I'm sorry Louis. Sounds like you two had a great relationship."

Louis chuckled. "Yeah, he was the best. He was at all of my piano recitals. My first performance was for him at our house. From that moment every year on his birthday, I would play his favourite song."

"What was the song?"

Louis cracked his fingers and placed them at the appropriate keys. The tune was much slower to what Clementine was used to hearing from Louis. "Should I try to hide, the way I feel inside, my heart for you? Would you say that you would try to love me too?

No one would dare deny the skills Louis had in the musical world. His voice slipped into Clementine's ears and melted away her worries. She was familiar with this song, hearing it at a wedding she attended once and multiple times again on the radio.

"In your mind could you ever be really close to me? I can tell the way you smile. If I feel that I could be certain then, I would say the things I want to say... tonight." Louis let the final key waver in silence. It hung in the air above their heads. "You play beautifully," Clementine whispered.

Louis smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad my talent is appreciated by my fans."

Clementine gave a sigh of relief. That familiar goofy boy was starting to come back out again. "Please don't forget me when you become famous and tour the world."

"Oh please, I could never forget you, Clementine," he winked. "Besides, if I do tour the world one day, I'm making sure you're coming with me."

Clementine pretended to swoon, a laugh freely escaping from Louis. They stayed in the vast room for what felt like hours, joking about which venues they would play at. Of course, this day will always affect Louis, but as long as Clementine is there beside him, he knows he can face it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first ever Clouis fic I wrote, so it has a special place in my heart <3  
> Also this was written before we discovered Louis's backstory lmao I was dead wrong


	3. Lovely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine shares her fears with Louis about her past, the future and their relationship.

Clementine started longingly at her hat. Part of her thought that if she focused on it hard enough she would be able to hear her dad's comforting voice. She closed her eyes and remembered the time her dad caught her putting stickers on the kitchen counters. He didn't yell, just explained to her how there were other ways to be creative.

But her body froze when she couldn't remember a key detail.

His voice.

Clementine could remember the grease stains on his flannel, the way his nose would crinkle whenever her mom told a terrible pun. But not his gentle voice, the one that could fight away her terrors at night.

"Clem, what's wrong?" AJ broke her from her daydream. "You look like you're about to cry."

Clementine looked up at him from her bed. "I was just thinking about the past. Anyways, you should be asleep. I'm...I'm gonna go for a little walk." She stood up and immediately made way for the door, her hat held close to her heart.

"But it's dark out," AJ looked out the window, it didn't look too thrilling, and there was a strong wind coming through.

"Thus the basis of its appeal," Clementine mumbled as she closed the door. Deep down she had no idea where to go, the walls were just closing in on her.

Clementine wandered aimlessly down the halls, the moonlight guiding her feet. "Come on think! You have to remember his voice!" She screamed at herself. Even her mom's voice was a distant memory. She was so lost in thought that she wasn't aware of where she was walking and before she knew it she was standing in front of a door, Louis's bedroom door.

"He's probably asleep, don't disturb him. It's been a long night he needs the rest." She told herself, but her hand quickly knocked on the door anyway. There was a slight ruckus inside, the squeaking of a bed followed by a loud thump then a quiet "ow", causing Clementine to smile briefly.

On the other side of the open door was a dishevelled Louis, Clementine thought he looked cute in this state. His dreadlocks were all over his face and there were many wrinkles on his shirt. "To what do I owe the pleasure..." Louis croaked as he pushed his dreadlocks to the side, his other hand rubbing the pulsing pain on the back of his head. "Clementine?"

"Hi, sorry to wake you, I just..." She suddenly noticed the tension between them, it was new and it made Clementine uncomfortable. She had admitted her crush to him a mere few hours ago, she could trust him with something so close to her heart...right? "I don't know why I'm here, I should go." Clementine turned to leave just as quickly as she showed up.

"Wait," Louis grabbed her shoulder with one swift movement. "Stay, please. Something has gotten you upset, so it's time for me to continue with the charm." He winked. Clementine briefly glanced back down the hallway, part of her didn't want to leave AJ alone.

"AJ will be fine for a while, it's not selfish of you to take care of yourself." Louis gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. If he and Clem were going to pursue whatever what growing between them, they needed to establish trust and faith in each other.

Clementine hated how he instantly knew what she was thinking, she hated how she just naturally opened up around him, she hated how she didn't hate it at all. They walked into the cold room together, Louis shutting the door behind them.

"So, did you have a bad dream?" Louis sat on his bed and motioned for Clem to join him. "I won't bite. Well, only if you ask." He winked, causing a chuckle out of Clem.

"You're so weird." She teased as she hopped onto his bed.

Louis wiggled his eyebrows. "Yet you're the one that declared a crush. Admit it, you dig it."

Clementine couldn't help but blush slightly. "It may or may not be cute."

"Back at it again with the word 'cute', I could easily get used to that. Anyways, back to the subject at hand. What's ailing you?"

Slowly she glanced down towards the hat. "I realised something tonight."

Louis followed her gaze. "That this hat is in need of a replacement? Yeah I think so too," He joked, and what a horrible joke it was too. The smile instantly fell off his face when he saw how tightly Clementine was holding it to her heart, tears prickling the outer corners of her eyes. "Shit I'm sorry. I guess that hat has a lot of importance to you." He quickly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her into his chest. She gladly accepted it, allowing herself to be greedy.

"It was my dad's hat. He let me wear it while he and mom were on a trip. I never got the chance to give it back to him."

Louis was trying to piece together the cause of her sadness. "So you're upset because you miss him?"

"Yeah, and also I can't remember his voice," Clementine pushed herself away, allowing the cold to stab Louis like a knife. "I was thinking about him and I can't remember what he sounds like. All I know is that it was gentle, he never yelled. If I can't remember his voice then what's next? His face, the kind of music he would sing me to sleep with? And what about my mom? I can't remember her either-"

"Hey now, you're not breathing. Take a deep breath in and out," Louis breathed in and out with her. "I'm sorry Clem, that's a lot of guilt to bear."

"I lost them, Louis, before I could tell them I loved them. I have this dream sometimes, where I can see my parents in the distance. I run to them as fast as I can but they always fade away. Every time, " Clementine never told anyone that dream, not even to AJ when he tried pressing it out of her. "It's this trend with my life. People who I love have died or gone missing."

This was all a wake-up call for Louis. He knew Clem had suffered through many traumatic events, the things she's hinted at sends shivers down his own spine. "You're not insinuating that it's your fault, right? Because it most certainly is not."

"But it is. It's my fault that Violet was taken by the raiders, I thought I could save both of you, but who knows what's going to happen to her, "Clementine couldn't erase the image of Violets face as she was being dragged by the raiders. "I'm also scared, about us." Clementine hung her head in guilt for admitting her fears.

"What about us?"

"Well, I like you, a lot. If something bad were to happen, I wouldn't forgive myself."

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," He drew small circles on the palm of her hand, sending slight shivers up her body. "It's touching that you care so much, it's one of the many, many reasons why I'm falling in love with you."

Static went flying up his veins at realising what he just said. He could feel Clementine's body tense up, the weight of his words hitting both of them, more so Clementine.

"What?" Her tone freaked out Louis. It was some horrid mix of confusion and anger. She immediately removed herself from his grasp and her spot on the bed as she securely fixed her hat atop her head. "Don't you ever say that to me."

Yep fully crossed into anger.

Louis's mouth opened but the words got caught in the back of his throat. Her stance made him feel so small, like she was about to tear him to pieces. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"You can't say that so casually! Were you not just listening? People who have loved me and who I have loved are all dead! I don't want that for you!"

Louis quickly stood up, almost slipping on the wooden floor. "Wait, wait, are you saying you love me too?"

Clementine completely lost her train of thought. She couldn't lie to herself, her feelings for Louis were definitely blossoming into uncharted territory. Was it extreme to say that it was the beginnings of love? "I don't know, I know I feel something strong for you-"

"Clementine, are you falling in love with me?" Louis's voice was half a whisper, melting into the night air around them. He was standing very close to her now, their lips could touch if she stood on her tiptoes. She thought of what he told her when they checked the traps together.

"There's only one guarantee, this moment. That's the only thing you got the only thing any of us got. Might as well enjoy it."

Clementine looked him in the eyes, the same eyes that have only ever looked at her with understanding, belief... and love.

"Yes."

That was the moment Louis's lips latched onto hers.

It wasn't like the dreamy romance movies Louis would binge-watch as a child. There were no fireworks, no rain or cherry blossoms falling around them. Just two hopeless teenagers standing in the middle of a decaying room.

But neither of them would have it any other way.

It baffled Clementine how such a simple act could convey so much emotion, she only wished she had kissed him at the piano first. The two slowly pulled away from each other, only then did they notice that their hands had somehow intertwined.

Louis pressed his forehead against Clementine's as he chuckled. "Wow," He whispered, his breath sounded ragged. "Have you done this before?"

Clementine shook her head. "Have you?" Louis also shook his head, giving her hand a slight squeeze. "Thank you." She murmured.

"What for?" Louis looked down at Clementine and decided that she looked even better in the moonlight than the sunshine. Over time he had started to notice little details about her, the sun made the shy freckles on her nose glow, whilst the moonlight gave her eyes the glow.

"For being here, and for understanding."

"Anytime Clem, it's good to see you relax," Louis placed a gentle kiss on her hat. "I'm sorry again, for what I said about the hat. It suits you and I know your dad would agree with me."

Clementine nuzzled into his warm shirt, bringing a squeaky laugh out of Louis. "Sorry, I'm ticklish."

"Well, looks like I've discovered your weakness." Clem teased as her hands danced along the sides of his stomach.

Louis let out a suppressed laugh. "Please...don't do this, heh!"

"Fine, you're lucky I have to go," Clem smirked as she took a step towards the door.

"Wait, I'll walk you back," Louis snatched up his coat to protect him from the cold. He graciously opened his door for Clementine who gave him a smile in return. "It's part of my duty now, gotta be a gentleman to my girlfriend."

Clementine liked the way the word 'girlfriend' rolled off his tongue. "In exchange, I'll teach you how to use the bow, properly. You're not always going to have Chairles around."

"Uh excuse me, Chairles is my lifelong companion. He's always got my back," Despite the fact that other people were sleeping, Louis didn't bother keeping himself quiet. "Besides, you look better with the bow than I do."

Clementine had to furiously bite down on her tongue to repress her girlish giggles, no one else had ever made her feel so giddy. Gabe had tried to, but he carried the weight of the world and was angry at the hand he'd been dealt. Louis was intoxicating. Never had she met someone with such an optimistic outlook, someone who cared for others more than themselves.

Maybe that's why she was drawn to him.

Louis could say the same, Clementine was a completely different world to him. She's been living outside the walls, fending for herself and now AJ. He, on the other hand, had been living...well with his head in the sand. But she's managed to pull him back out to remind him that reality can be better than a fantasy, with her heart made of glass and mind of stone.

Both felt a twinge of sadness at seeing Clementine's door come into view. Louis gazed longingly at the night sky. "What a waste of a lovely night."

Clementine looked with him and appreciated each star twinkling against the navy sky. "When I was a kid, I would always feel sad for the moon, because no one would stay awake to watch it. I'd try and stay up all night just to watch it so it could be loved."

Call Louis the Grinch cause his heart just grew three sizes. "Wow, somehow you've become even more cute, if that's possible," He took her by the hand and gave her body a twirl. "Goodnight my darling Clementine."

"Goodnight Prince Charming."

Clementine slowly pulled herself away from Louis and crept inside her room, giving him a final smile before closing the door. AJ had fallen asleep in a little ball under the sheets, he seemed so peaceful and happy. She quietly slid into her bed, immediately hating the cold that made her toes numb.

She soon fell asleep to the sound of the wind shaking the window, holding herself as tight as Louis did. That night Clementine dreamed of her parents once again, but this time they ran to her with open arms and gave Clementine the love she'd been missing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like two days ago I realised that this fic could also work with 'Lovely' by Twenty One Pilots and that has a happier undertone to it :/


	4. Best Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Clementine's birthday, so Louis and AJ attempt to make it a great one.

AJ put his plan into motion by slowly climbing onto the edge of the bed, being incredibly careful as to not wake Clementine or the snoring mess beside her, Louis. Part of him was tempted to jump on Louis instead just to get him to shut up, but he was a kid with a plan and nothing could distract him. AJ pounced onto Clementine like an animal, landing on her stomach with a thud.

"Happy birthday Clem!" He shouted, ripping her out of a peaceful sleep, had it been anyone else she would have already pinned them to the ground.

Clementine felt winded, AJ weighed a lot more than she remembered. "What the hell are you doing AJ?"

"It's your birthday! We have to do something." He seemed much more eager than she was. Her birthday was never something she went out of her way for, there was no true point. AJ always tried to make it a big deal when she taught him what birthdays were.

"What's going on?" Louis croaked, rubbing the crap out of his eyes. "What is weighing down my arm?"

"It's me," AJ didn't take into account Louis's arm that was draped around Clementine's stomach, he'll have to live with it for now. "I'm not moving."

"Alright then little dude." Louis slammed his head back onto the pillow, he wasn't a morning person and as far as he was concerned this was going to be another slow day.

"He's just excited cause it's my birthday,"

_Wait, **WHAT.**_

Louis shot upright, hitting his head on the top bunk. The pain wasn't phasing him, not when there was something more important at hand. "It's your birthday?"

"She's eighteen," AJ wiggled slightly, unable to keep in his excitement.

"And yet I let you sleep in on your birthday," Clementine slowly pushed AJ off her stomach and sat against the headboard, her little boy resting comfortably in her lap. "What makes this birthday so special?"

"Well, usually your birthday makes you upset, but you haven't been sad lately and now we have Louis and I think he should celebrate with us."

Clementine started blushing but Louis's heart began to flutter. He leaned over to AJ, ignoring the eye roll from Clem. "So what's the master plan?" There were so many things to do, so little time. Unfortunately, most of them would only be plausible if there were no walkers. It would be impossible to write 'Happy Birthday Clementine!' in the sky now.

Clementine shot him a deadly glare. "There is no plan, you guys don't have to do anything."

"No can do Clemmy-"

"-Don't call me that-"

"-AJ and I have things to discuss," He swiftly bounced off the bed and grabbed his coat. "Come on little dude, we have work to do." AJ rolled off of Clementine and followed Louis outside, almost bounding out the door with such glee Louis thought he was on the cusp of exploding. He gave Clem a brief wink before shutting the door, leaving Clementine alone in bed with wide eyes.

"What just happened?"

-

"So, any ideas?"

AJ shrugged. "Not really, last year I gave her this flower I found and the year before that it was a hug."

_It's the thought that counts._

"Well it's time for Team Fun to up the ante," Louis stretched his fingers dramatically, in the same fashion as when he's about to play the piano, making AJ laugh. "I like the flower idea, we'll keep that in mind. Have you done anything else for her birthday?"

"No, I didn't know what a birthday was."

"What has Clementine done for your birthday?" Louis was trying his best to milk out as much information as possible, but it's hard when the child in question doesn't understand social concepts.

"She would give me extra food and we'd spend the day playing games."

_God, she's such a good mom._

"Alrighty, so games are also an option. I'll go and search the basement, there's a whole pile of old stuff there that might make for a decent present, how about you go to Tenn and see if you two and draw up a cool birthday card."

"What's a card?"

"He'll explain it to you. We'll meet up at the flagpole when we're done."

The boys split off into two different directions with different goals. The basement wasn't Louis's favourite place to be, it hadn't be opened in a few years, there was so much clutter down there it was pointless to try and clean it.

The basement was stationed near the nurses' office, it used to be a storage unit for the classes, all the spare equipment was kept down there.  _"Fuck, I hope there's no weird ecosystem growing,"_  The door squeaked as Louis slowly opened it a crack, sticking his head through. "Hey potential walkers, please don't jump out and eat me."

The stairs were blanketed in dust and creaked as Louis made the descent into the dark that scared him as a child. He and Marlon would dare each other to sneak down there during the night and bring back something. Marlon once brought a box filled with spare guitar picks, Louis beat him with a spare hockey stick that he used to chase Violet during lunch.

The teachers kept an eye on him from that point on.

The small window didn't provide much insight, the majority of the room was hidden in shadows, not having seen daylight in years. Thankfully the rays of light shining in revealed a cardboard box labelled 'Photography and Digital Media - Mrs Bryant'.

"Ah Mrs Bryant," Louis sighed as memories of her trying to teach the rule of thirds and David Moore entered his brain. "You never did forgive me for cracking the lens of your Kodak."

He began to dig through the box, hoping for a diamond in the rough. His wishes were answered when he came across a Polaroid camera somehow in working condition. "I won't even question it."

Louis quickly ran back up the stairs, his childhood fears giving him adrenaline. He slammed the door with relief. "Fuck that place."

He ran out to the courtyard, peering down corridors to look for Clementine, the one time he didn't want to run into her. AJ was sitting by the flagpole as instructed, a folded piece of paper in his hand and a few freshly plucked flowers in the other.

"Hey AJ, card ready?"

He opened it and showed Louis his and Tenn's masterpiece. "Does it look good?"

Louis smiled, impressed by the little cartoons drawn along the bottom of the card. "She'll love it."

"What the fuck are you two doing?"

Louis quickly hid the camera behind his back as he turned, expecting an angry Clementine. Luckily it was just Violet.

"It's super secret Vi, it only involves the members of Team Fun."

Violet rolled her eyes, something she often did in Louis's presence. "Come on don't be a dick. Tell me." She tried peeking behind Louis's back, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Fine. It's Clementines birthday and AJ and I have prepared a little surprise," He brought the camera around slowly. "I found this in the basement, not entirely sure what to use it for but it's somehow in working condition."

"You went into the basement? Damn Louis, this is serious," Violet eyed the camera playfully. "I think I know what the gift can be," Within a flash, she yanked the camera from his hands and took a photo of herself giving the peace sign. Slowly the photo emerged from the gap in the camera. "You can give her something to hold onto forever."

"That's actually really sweet Vi. I knew beneath that rough exterior there's a kind girl wanting to break free-"

"No fuck off."

Soon the other kids gathered around to see the contraption in Violet's hand and everyone wanted to be featured in a photo. Violet took one of her and Louis poking their tongues out, AJ got one of him and Tenn smiling, even though half his face was out of the frame. Louis even captured one of Aasim in the midst of laughing, a truly rare sight. It took ten minutes to develop, but as each one unfolded it brought laughter and created excitement over Clem's potential reaction.

Clementine had been watching the commotion through the window, never had she seen any of the other kids act so excited. "What's going on?" She called as she jumped down the stairs.

"Happy Birthday Clem!" Ruby called out, causing a cheer amongst the other kids.

Clementine slowly placed her hands on her hips as she stared down Louis and AJ, who tried to look as innocent as possible.

"We tried to surprise you, so we organised a gift," Louis was hoping he wouldn't get beat for this as he tidied the pile of photos and slid them inside the card. "We all grant thee, Princess Clementine, the greatest of days." Louis got down on one knee and presented her the card, AJ in tow, handing her the flowers.

She took her gifts gently from their hands, a little afraid of what was inside the card. But there was no reason to be, there was a long message on one side of the card, written from AJ, with a couple of drawings of flowers, cartoon monsters and her hat. On the other side were little messages from everyone, wishing her a happy day and Louis saying that he loves her the most, with AJ's writing beneath it going against Louis's claims.

"This is... " Her heart began to beat faster as she looked through all the photos. "Incredible."

Louis and AJ let out a sigh of relief.

"How long did this take to plan?"

Louis playfully swatted the air. "Not long at all, the brain power of Team Fun goes beyond the cosmos," AJ nodded in agreement, he understood none of that statement but assumed it was good.

Clementine closed the card and ran to the group, enveloping them all in a hug. "Thanks guys." They all eagerly hugged her back.

-

Clementine immediately went to work on placing the pictures on the wall by her bed. It definitely made it more like home, everyone's smiles were genuine, it made Clementine feel warm in her heart. The flowers were lying neatly by her hat on the desk, they certainly brightened up the place.

"Did you enjoy today?"

Clementine jumped slightly, Louis's voice bringing her out of her thoughts. He was casually leaning against the doorway, toying with the camera in his hands. "I did, I haven't had a birthday this fun in a long time."

"I'm glad, it was fun to plan it with AJ," He invited himself into the room and sat next to Clementine, the bed sinking a little under their weight. "He cares a heck of a lot about you, we all do."

AJ had opened up to Louis in a way that genuinely shocked Clementine. Whenever they were together it reminded Clem of her relationship with Lee, it always brought a smile to her face. "He gets very determined sometimes."

Louis agreed, not taking his eyes off the camera. "Your birthday isn't over yet, there's still one photo missing," He motioned for her to come closer which she did, any chance to get close to Louis was a chance taken. "I haven't gotten one with you today. I need this as photographic evidence."

He positioned the camera in front of him and Clementine, ready to take the shot. "Evidence of what?"

"That I was as lucky to have someone like you."

Clementine burst out laughing, hiding her face in his thick coat. Louis frantically captured the moment, hoping that he didn't lose her smile. "You know, the whole point of a photo is to take pictures of people and their faces. You hiding yours defeats the purpose."

"Well, you caught me off guard!" She plucked out the photo with ease and placed it onto the dresser. "If I look like an idiot I'll blame you."

"I'm confident in my photography skills, despite the fact the teacher hated me." His smile makes Clementine die and come back to life all at once, even the missing tooth is something she finds endearing.

"Whatever, thank you for reminding me that birthdays can be fun," She laid a swift kiss to his cheek, catching him off guard. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I usually like my birthday to slip under the radar, no point in making a fuss."

Louis smoothly slipped his hand around her waist. "Ah but you are worth the fuss my dear," He repaid the kiss with one to her forehead. "But like I said, your birthday isn't over yet. Come on." Louis stood from the bed, leading Clementine out the door. "There are games to be played!"


	5. Positive or Negative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine turns to Violet for help, eventually Louis finds out the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few very brief mentions of sex but nothing in detail, gotta keep this rated T. Plus in this fic all the characters are 23 years old :) it'll make sense why, trust me.

Her feet stomped against the creaking floorboards, it matched with the pounding in her chest. She ran as fast as she could up the stairs, trying not to trip over anything in the process. Landing on her stomach would not be smart right now.  _"Fuck don't think like that. You don't know for sure."_  Clementine thought to herself. She slammed the doors to the office wide open, frightening Violet who was sitting at the desk.

"Fucking hell Clem, scare the shit out of me why don't you," Violet said coldly. She straightened out the new and improved map in her hand. "It's actually good that you showed up, I need you and Ruby to remove the weeds from the greenhouse later today-"

"-I need your help!" Clementine shouted, causing Violet to stop mid-sentence. She didn't mean to sound so abrasive, it just came out like word vomit. "I just...I have a problem and I can't really talk to anyone else about it, not right now."

Violet put the map down and guided Clementine to the chair opposite the desk. "I'm the only one? What about Louis?"

Clementine's eyes widened in fear. "No, no, no he cannot know. Not now at least."

Violet took note of how bad Clementine's hands were trembling. It really began to shock her, in the six years of knowing Clementine she had never seen her in such a state of disarray, even if she had been oddly moody the past couple of weeks. "Oh my god, did he do something? I'll snap that monkey like a twig!"

"He didn't do anything wrong, it's my fault. I was so stupid," Clementine furiously wiped at her eyes to stop the oncoming tears. "You have to promise me not to tell this to  _anyone."_

Violet sat down opposite Clem. "You're really starting to freak me out, what's wrong?"

Clementine wrapped her jacket around her tightly. Where to begin? So many thoughts were flooding her brain that it was difficult to grab just one.

"I feel sick. Like all the time," Clementine stared right into Violet's eyes, sending shivers down the blonde girl's spine. "My..my stomach hurts everytime I wake up, whenever I eat meat and for the past two weeks I've just been feeling...irritable."

Violet was beyond confused. "I seriously don't get what you're saying. So you feel sick, it happens to all of us."

Clementine frantically grabbed Violet's hands. "It's more than that Violet. I think...I think I'm pregnant."

_Holy shit._

Violet didn't even try and hide her shocked expression. Why even bother trying? She squeezed Clementine's hands slightly. "Fuck, are you absolutely sure Clem? We don't even have any pregnancy tests, are you sure it isn't PMS? Is your period late?"

Clementine got out of the chair and paced around the room. "I am late, but that happens sometimes so I didn't think anything of it at first."

"Do you know how late you are?"

"About two weeks now. That was the first major sign."

Violet sighed. She was never good at assisting people with personal problems, but with something this serious? What was there to say? "I really, really hate to ask this, but have you and Louis...y'know...flipped?" Violet attempted to put a positive spin on this by bringing back a good memory the two shared.

Clementine smiled a little. "Well, yeah. It was a month ago," Her face began to flush just from thinking about it.

Violet scrunched up her face. "Oh god, I don't want to hear about it!" She rubbed the sides of her head to prevent a headache she knew she would get after this, also to prevent any images of Clementine and Louis from entering her brain. "I'm sure everything will be fine Clem, but you have to tell Louis, even if you're not pregnant he should know what's going on."

Clementine took Violet by surprise by embracing her in a hug. "I'm so scared Vi, I don't know what to do. I've travelled with pregnant women before and it never ends well..." Violet could hear the soft cries Clementine let out onto her denim jacket, she slowly patted Clem on the back, albeit awkwardly. "You're a badass Clem, you can survive anything. We'll all be here for you if you are."

Part of the weight that burdened Clementine slowly lifted off her shoulders, even if for a brief moment, she felt relaxed.

"Oh, Violet!"

_"Fuck, shit no not now!"_  Clementine's peaceful thoughts zapped away. Her relaxed state of mind now gone completely out the window at hearing that perfect sing-song tone.

"Ready to assign me a task that I will ultimately underperform?" Louis attempted to make a grand entrance with a joke, a common trope of his. It fell short when he noticed Violet and Clem standing in the centre of the room in the middle of a tight embrace, Violet clearly pissed at Louis and Clementine clearly very upset. "What's wrong?" He immediately dropped his funny persona at the sight of a distressed Clementine. It was shocking to see her so upset, it seemed that nothing could really phase her. He took one step towards her but she immediately ran past him, bumping shoulders with him on the way.

"You can be a big dumbass sometimes." Violet scoffed.

Louis turned back to her to try and get answers but seems he's getting questions instead. "What the fuck just happened? Why is Clementine upset?"

Violet crossed her arms. "You should be asking her that. Ask her what's wrong then shut up and listen." She grabbed the map before storming out of the office, leaving Louis to wallow in his growing panic.

-

The music echoing down the hall gave away her location. The repetition of the A key, then the B key, followed by the G key made him smile. The only keys she knew, the only ones he showed her. He quietly crept through the crack in the door, his eyes falling on her. Her back was slightly hunched over the piano as her finger pressed the same three keys in the same order. Her eyes were glassy, her skin pale. She didn't object to him sitting down next to her, which he took as a nice sign. "Hey."

She was envious of how calm he was. She wished she could go back a month ago, a time when she was also calm and not panicking about the future. "Hi. Sorry I ran off before, it was very overwhelming in that room." Clementine stopped playing the piano, but she still couldn't bring herself to look up at Louis.

"That's what I'm here to find out. What's the matter?" Louis gently scooped up her hands in his. They were so cold and were shaking ever so slightly.

_"Inhale, exhale,"_  Clementine told herself. "I don't really know where to start."

"The beginning is usually the best place." Louis playfully bumped her shoulder, ignoring Violet's warning. But seeing Clementine not laugh, smile or react to it in anyway made him regret it.

"God this is awkward. You know how a month ago you and I..."

Louis sported a grin that went from ear to ear. "Yes my darling, what of it?"

Clementine started to pick at her fingernails to dwell the growing anxiety. "Well, a few weeks ago I started to feel nauseous. Then I noticed that I was late like my was period late. My nausea has been growing worse, I can't eat meat without throwing up, which is something you've noticed," Louis recalled to a few days ago when the group was having fish for dinner, Clementine took one bite and ran off. She told the group she had a stomach bug. "At first I thought it was just an illness, something that would pass. But it hasn't and I'm starting to think I'm..."

She made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were so warm, so inviting. Deep down she knew there was no reason to be afraid of telling him, it was more for herself. By saying it to him it made the situation real. Something that she couldn't run from, not this time. "I think I'm pregnant." She quickly looked away and shut her eyes, not wanting to witness his reaction.

But the laughter caught her completely off guard.

She frantically turned to look at him, his smile was so big she thought his face was about to crack.

"I'm not gonna lie, part of me was suspicious, you have been acting weird the past few weeks. Some small part of me thought you might have been pregnant, and you are. Holy shit, it's mine!" He shouted with glee.

Clementine was conflicted, at least he wasn't disappointed. But is it normal to be this excited, given the circumstances of their world? "How are you so...giddy?"

"How can you not? It's a baby Clem! Our baby!" Louis felt like he was soaring. Having a baby with the woman of his dreams just completely exploded his heart.

"I've seen what happens to pregnant women in this world. When I was twelve the woman I was travelling with had a stillbirth, AJ's mum died the day after giving birth to him and when AJ was a baby this woman I was with killed herself when she found out she was pregnant. So, there aren't very good odds."

Louis could see where the stress was growing from and it was justified. He couldn't begin to fathom how he would react in those situations. "Look at AJ, he's thriving. As long as you take care of yourself you'll be fine."

"It's not that simple. We also have no food, no clothes, nothing required to look after a baby. I should have known this would happen, it was stupid to go through with it."

She was right, neither of them was in a proper state of mind that night. It's true what the adults would say, one night of fun can have major consequences.

_But god was it fun._

"We weren't thinking properly I'll give you that, but the actions of a drunk man reflect the thoughts of the sober. I blame Violet. She's the one who had convinced us to share that bottle of Smirnoff,"

Both of them agreed that it was a fun night. Violet had this bottle of Smirnoff she found on an expedition and decided to share it with the group during a game of Truth or Dare. Turns out too much Smirnoff can have more of an impact than originally thought.

"Maybe blowing on the strings will help you find harmony." His joke was met with a gentle punch to the arm. At least she still had her moxie.

"I appreciate what you're doing, but-"

"But what? I promise Princess I will cure what ails you." Louis crossed his heart.

"The timing isn't right. Kids never really crossed my mind, I thought AJ would be the closest thing I'd ever have." Clementine peaked through the wooden boards covering the window and saw AJ on watch with Willy. She got lucky with AJ, there were so many times he was almost lost forever.

"Clem, are you happy about this?"

Clementine didn't know what to feel, she couldn't make sense of it all. "I don't know, I'm not even totally sure that I am pregnant. I just thought you should know now, in case that I am." She gave him a hopeful smile, but after being together for this long, he could see right through it. He looped his arm around her waist and brought her in close.

"Thank you for telling me, I can't imagine how Violet reacted."

"She was actually pretty calm, as calm as Violet can be." Clem joked, slowly she was starting to regain her composure.

"Clementine!"

"Speak of the devil." Louis groaned.

Violet slammed through the doors, waving a purple box in the air.

"I found one! It was in the first aid kit I found on my last supply run," Violet quickly walked towards Clementine and handed her the box. "It should work."

Clementine slowly took the box from her hands and read the instructions on the back. "How has this not expired?"

Violet shrugged. "I don't know, at least we have one. Come on, let's find out," She grabbed Clementine's hand and began to drag her towards the girls' bathroom. "Best to get your uncertainty out of the way."

"I guess I'll just wait here then. Not like it's mine or anything!" Louis called out to them as they fell out of sight.

Clementine managed to get her footing and let go of Violet's hand. "I remember when I was seven, my mom's cousin fell pregnant and I was confused by it all. I didn't know how it happened, how she found out and where the baby would be coming from. My mom gave her all this medical advice, something about a birth canal...it was weird."

Violet chuckled. "Well, you're about to experience all of that."

-

"How much longer?"

"Thirty seconds."

The bathroom was eerily cold, the only sound was Violet tapping her foot against the tiles. Thirty seconds felt like a very long time to wait. "I hate the downstairs bathroom, I wish we could somehow repair the one upstairs," Violet was trying to pass the time and distract Clementine, who was staring very intently at the white stick. "Any possible names?"

Clementine smiled, but she didn't look away from the stick. "Well, I like the name Diana, after my mom. If it's a boy Ed, my dad's name. Then again, Lee would be a great name. Louis is going to want a say though."

Violet scoffed. "He's going to pick some dumb, old musicians name, like Beethoven," Both of the girls laughed at the thought of Louis fighting over a name like Beethoven. Violet stopped laughing when she checked her cracked watch. "It's time Clem," The air suddenly felt very heavy. "You want to look first?"

Clementine took a step towards the sink, the stick lying there so innocently. "I can't, I can't do it. You look." She quickly turned her back and focused on the graffiti written all over the stalls.

Violet carefully grabbed the stick. "It's negative."

Clementine's shoulders fell, her heart sinking as Violet's words repeated in her head. "It's what?"

"Negative. You're not pregnant." Violet sounded a little sad, something that wrenched Clementine's gut.

Clementine let out a shaky breath. "Okay then, maybe you were right and it's just PMS," Her attempts at hiding her tears didn't go past Violet. "I guess we have nothing to worry about."

"You okay Clem?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Her vision of a child with her gold eyes and Louis' freckles ran out of her sight just as quickly as it appeared. "That's good, right? I mean we don't have any of the things we need, nothing like that," Clementine couldn't control the crack in her voice as she started to cry again. "This is so stupid, I don't know why I'm so...is it really negative?"

"No, it's positive."

Clementine slowly turned towards Violet with wide eyes. "What?"

"It's positive. I lied before, now you know how you really feel," Violet gave Clem a cheeky smile as she passed her the stick. Clementine saw it for herself, a little pink plus sign. "Are you actually okay?"

Clementine sniffled as she let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah, I'm gonna have a baby... I'm gonna have a baby."

Violet surprised herself by eagerly hugging Clementine. "Just so you know I never hug people and if you tell anyone about this I'll deny all of it."

Clementine soaked in the hug whilst she could. "I won't say a word."

Violet let go of Clem. "You should go tell Louis, when you're both done being cute and gross come and find me, we need to start preparing for this baby now." They walked back to Louis's designated music room together, talking about what resources they were going to need. Violet gave Clem a fist bump before walking outside.

Clementine poked her head through the doors, Louis was pacing back and forth around the room, mumbling something to himself. "You okay Louis?"

Louis was caught off guard by Clementine's surprise return. "Oh yeah, just thinking of potential names. I know that there's the chance you're not pregnant-"

Clem just couldn't hold it in any longer. "I am."

Louis's whole body froze. "You...you're pregnant?"

Clementine nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess I'll have to take it easy for a while-"

She was cut off by a strong force, that force being Louis in the form of a hug. His arms were tightly wrapped around her, cracking some sore points in her back, Clementine eagerly hugged him back. "I will be there for you, whatever you need please don't hesitate to ask."

Something so simple as hearing those words caused the last of Clementine's resolve. The thick trench coat beneath her absorbed all her pain, fear and worry that had been bubbling inside her the past few weeks. She cried, without bothering to hide it this time. Louis let her have this moment, this moment to let out everything she had been feeling without judgment. "I'm...I'm sorry," She muttered between cries.

Louis pulled her off his jacket to glance into her watery eyes. "What are you sorry for?"

"For not going to you sooner, I was so scared of the whole situation, but I'm not anymore." She quickly wiped away the tear tracks on her cheeks. "As long as you're here, you're going to be a great dad."

Louis had to bite his bottom lip to keep himself from becoming a weeping mess. "And you are going to be the world's best mother." He placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, sending a warm shiver down her body.

"Violet wanted to talk to us, she wants to start making plans," Clementine took Louis by the hand and the two began to walk outside. "And I'm going to have to tell AJ, I really don't know what to say to him."

"He knows where babies come from, so I'd spare him the details," Louis wiggled his eyebrows. "We'll tell him together, whenever you're ready."

The two found Violet sitting outside, staring at the odd cloud formations. She turned to the sound of the door opening, a rare smile on her face. "Okay you crazy kids, follow me," Violet firmly grabbed them both and pulled them back inside, heading towards the office. "I was making a mental list of all the shit we'll need, food is our primary concern. We can make clothes and blankets ourselves and our water supply is doing fine. Are you guys going to tell everyone today or wait it out?"

Louis and Clementine shared an awkward glance, for the parents of the baby they weren't this prepared. "I don't know, may as well tell them tonight at dinner," Clem suggested.

"Cool, we're going to need their help anyway," They all gathered by the large desk as they mapped out which locations should be scavenged first. "There's an abandoned farm a little ways past the safe zone, it could have some food."

Louis smirked, confidence soaring through him. This baby will have the best they can get. The timing isn't right, but as long as the world is being dominated by walkers there will never be the right time for anything. Their love was all they were both sure of. "Sounds like a start, I'll make sure we get the best for Lil' baby Mozart!"

Violet slammed her fist on the desk as she shot a crazy stare at Clementine. "I fucking told you!"

 


	6. Little One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nine months have gone by and Clementine can't take being pregnant anymore, but labour seems so much worse than she originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to remain a two-part series since I feel as though I covered the story I wanted to share. I hope you all enjoy this one :)

The baby was one week late.

And what a fucking mess it was.

Clementine snapped at anyone who so much as coughed too loudly, Louis wasn't cracking as many jokes, even Rosie seemed down in the dumps. She wouldn't play catch with AJ anymore, letting the ball roll past her instead to the tall grass.

It was bad enough that the baby hadn't been kicking at all the past two weeks. Clementine had gone into panic parent mode once again. Something she hoped to experience only once with AJ. It kept her awake at night and whatever sleep she got was plagued by disturbing dreams with enough detail to make her throw up.

Clementine slid her fingers over the engravings made in the wooden table, her eyes finding shapes amongst the pink clouds. Another nightmare had tormented her once again, it was like clockwork. "I hope you're okay in there," She slid her hand her little bump. Louis had tried multiple times to tell her that it wasn't too small, that it was perfect.

_Of course, he'd say that. He's the bloody father._

"We're all waiting for you to arrive, so please hurry. It's getting uncomfortable."

Clementine looked out at the rising sun and yawned. Sleep was hard to come by these days, even without the dreams her body is holding a little person. Leaving Louis in bed was the morning's biggest challenge, given that his arm was always draped over her belly.

"Clem? What are you doing awake sugar?"

Clementine looked at her friend walking closer to the table, eager to see Ruby's warm smile.

"Couldn't sleep, it's hard to get comfortable these days." She pointed to her little bump, bringing a chuckle out of Ruby.

She slid in next to Clementine, noticing how deep the circles under her bronze eyes were. "Don't blame ya. I couldn't sleep either so I thought I'd watch the sunrise, sure glad to have some company."

Having Ruby as a makeshift midwife was great, whenever she wasn't hovering over Clementine like she was now. Ruby's worried expression didn't slide past her, the squinting eyes gave it away.

"What's the matter, Ruby?"

"Just worrin' about you and the baby. It's what I do best Clem," Ruby played with some dirt beneath her fingertips, eager to get rid of it.

It was a mutual feeling, not just between them but everyone in their group. Clementine saw their nervous glances, the way their eyes lingered a little too long on her stomach. When they told everyone nine months ago it took time to convince them that this would go well, that nothing bad would happen as long as they all remained calm.

_Ironic._

"How's Louis?"

"He's dealing with it. Each day that goes by with no sign of the baby becomes more challenging for him. He's putting on a brave front but I know it hurts." Clementine glanced back at the school, wondering if Louis was awake yet. He was a light sleeper, probably already wondering where the hell she had wandered off to this time.

Ruby reached over to Clem's hand and held it tightly. "I'm sure it'll be just fine,"

Clementine squeezed back as she and Ruby gazed at the clouds, enjoying their moment of solitude whilst they could.

-

"Be careful out there, okay?"

Clementine adjusted the collar of Louis's trench coat, somehow it still fit him after all these years. Not that she was complaining, it looked rather dashing on him.

"I promise. Nothing can go wrong when I have trusty Chairles," Louis swung the grimy bat over his shoulder, giving Clem a confident smile. "You be careful too, take it easy with the kid. Keep him safe."

"Him? So it's a boy now?"

"It's gonna be a boy, I can feel it. It's like magic," Louis gently poked her stomach with his finger, hoping for a kick to lift his spirits. Alas, nothing. "Love you Clemster."

"I love you too,"

Louis and Aasim went off on their daily check of the traps. Clementine stopped going with them three months ago, Louis got parental paranoia about the baby being hurt. She watched the boys walk out into the forest, disappearing behind a cascade of trees.

"He's right Clem," Violet stomped up to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You should rest."

"That's all I've been doing the past two months," Clem pushed the hand away, suddenly feeling very intolerant to the human touch. "Is there nothing I can do to help? It'll be snowing soon and we need to prepare."

Watching everyone else prepare for the winter had Clementine feeling useless. They were chopping wood, making blankets and hunting day and night, all while Clementine was sitting in bed, clutching her belly in pain and throwing up into a rusty bucket she had named Phillip.

Violet looked around the field, trying to pick out an easy job. "Okay, you can help AJ on watch."

It wasn't her favourite job, but it was something. AJ was always good for some laughs too. She climbed the rocky ladder with little assistance from Violet and AJ, even though she didn't want it.

"Thanks, goofball, seen anything yet?" Clem slowly sat herself down across from AJ, immediately staring at a monarch butterfly on the wall of the school.

AJ wiped some grime from the lens of the binoculars. "A few walkers, nothing out of the ordinary. The cold is starting to slow them down."

Clementine let out a chuckle as she adjusted her coat. "It's weird, hearing you call them walkers. When you were younger you would call them monsters," She looked at the young man sitting across from her. He was thirteen now, yet he acted like a fully grown adult. "You've certainly grown up."

"And yet you still call me goofball."

Clementine gently kicked his foot. "That will never change."

AJ laughed, secretly happy that he wasn't about to lose his nickname. They took turns gazing through the binoculars, telling old stories and memories to pass the time. The soft winds wrapped them up in a cocoon, the way it was before they first came to the school all those years ago.

Clementine often wondered, on her darkest nights, what she and AJ would have become without the school. The kids - well they're not kids anymore - had given them both so much, and now to help with a baby-

"Argh!"

AJ jumped out his daydream, instantly panicking when he saw how Clementine was clutching her stomach.

"Clem...there's water..."

Clementine looked down at where AJ was pointing, seeing a dark patch grow from her crotch.

"Oh fuck."

Ruby, Violet and Tenn immediately ran over to the post, wondering why AJ looked so grossed out and why Clem looked so angry.

"What the fuck is happening?" Violet called out.

Clementine pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the tears that burned the corner of her eyes. "Guys, it's happening!"

-

She bit the towel with such urgency, calling bullshit on what Ruby said.  _"It'll take your mind off the pain."_  No matter how hard Clementine bit the damp towel, the pain in her abdomen hurt more than anything else in her life.

"AJ, we need some water. Willy, stay on watch. As soon as you see Lou and Aasim get their attention. Tenn, grab all the blankets you can. Ruby and I will-"

"Gah!"

Violet winced at Clementine's fifth scream and counting, they seemed to get progressively louder.

"-try to keep her calm."

Everyone ran off to follow their duties. They had been preparing for months now, but drills were nothing compared to the real thing. Willy ran off on shaky legs whilst Tenn had to drag AJ away from Clementine.

"Clem, I need you to take deep breaths." Ruby helped Clementine lay down on her bed, arranging the pillows accordingly.

"How the fuck is that going to help? I have a towel in my mouth!" Clem snapped. Her muffled words didn't help soften the blow.

"Just keep quiet, we don't need any walkers hearing you," Violet scanned out the window, eyeing down a walker trudging outside the school.

_Fucker better not get any closer._

The world around Clementine was blurry. Her mind off in a distant land as she tried to make sense of where she was. "Where's Louis?" His company had been spoiling her since the day they met, without his dumb jokes everything seemed so much heavier.

Ruby took the towel out of her mouth just as AJ and Tenn ran back with a jug of water. She swiftly dipped the towel in and rested it against Clementine's sweaty forehead.

"He'll be back real soon, don't you worry now." To say that Ruby was panicking was a huge understatement, Miss Martin never prepared her for this! She rolled her sleeves up and grabbed some questionable gloves, praying that her knowledge was enough.

Clementine turned to the window, hoping that Louis would walk through the school gates any moment now and take her pain away.

-

It was a shit haul, one rabbit between the two of them. Better than nothing but when you have one woman eating for two, food is a top priority.

"You are oddly quiet Louis, what's wrong?" Aasim slowed down and walked in time with the boy behind him.

Louis kicked a stone near his feet, trying to find a simple distraction. "I'm fine, just thinking."

"I know you more than you probably realise. You're thinking about Clem, right?"

_Goddamn, this boy and his intellectual capabilities._  "When am I not thinking about her?" His rhetorical question was met with an eye roll.

"I'm sure the baby is alright. Trust me I know what happens when birth goes wrong," Aasim noticed the concerned glance from Louis yet chose silence. Now wasn't the right time to talk about his little sister. "Is Willy alright?"

Louis and Aasim squinted their eyes at the kid who was failing his arms like a rabid animal. "Louis! Aasim! It's go time!"

"Why must he shout everything?" Aasim groaned as he swung his axe over his shoulder. "What's wrong Willy?"

Willy jumped from the tower, avoiding the ladder entirely. "Clem and the baby! It's happening!"

Louis's ears perked up at the sound of her name. Immediately throwing caution to the wind, he slammed the gates open, charging full speed at the school.

As soon as he entered the hall her screams became audible, sending his blood cold. It was echoing all around him, as if his nightmares had come to life. Tracking down the noise to their room, he threw the door wide open, causing Violet and Tenn to jump.

"There you are!" It was the first time Violet was relieved to be in Louis's presence. "Shit is gonna go down if we don't help."

"Clem," Louis pushed past his friend and leaned down to a crying Clementine. A damp towel was draped over her head, the pillow beneath her coated in sweat and water.

"What took you so long!?"

Louis winced, still not used to the yelling voice she had adopted recently. Not taking it to heart, he stroked her hair the way he does whenever she wakes up from a nightmare, his fingers twirling through the damp curls.

"You'll be okay, it'll be over soon."

"Alright, there are too many people in this room, so unless you're the father let's go." Violet ushered AJ and Tenn out, closing the door behind her just as Aasim arrived.

Ruby shooed Louis away, getting him to sit on a stool by the desk. "I got Omar to start preparing food. This baby is gonna need it."

Louis ran his sweaty palms over his ripped jeans. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Can you try keepin' her calm? It'll be easier if she relaxes." Ruby was frantically searching through her medic kit. For the past nine months, she had been collecting anything that could be useful; medical books, tape, bandages, pads and even alcohol wipes, yet it still didn't seem like enough.

"Is the baby on its way?"

"It's just labour, the baby won't be here for another few hours."

Louis kneeled down next to Clem, wiping her tears with his dirty sleeve. "You'll be okay,".

"It...it's going now," Clementine let out a sigh of relief as her cramps subsided, her body relaxing into the bed.

Ruby flipped through a dusty medical book Aasim found for her, scanning quickly through the chapter regarding labour. "It'll come back-"

"-Oh god." Clementine squeezed the bed sheets feverishly, wanting nothing more than to be done with it all.

"-just breathe and you'll be fine."

Louis took her clenched hand and kissed it gently. "You got this Clem. Just think, in a few hours we'll have our baby." Even if she was too far into unbearable pain to really comprehend his words, Clem knew deep down that this was worth it.

~

Things weren't any better on the other side of the door. Violet was pacing in small circles, biting at the flesh around her nails. Willy had gone back to his post, doing just as he was asked. Tenn was trying to comfort AJ, who was rocking back and forth in a mad state.

"What if she dies?" AJ's question brought everyone down. It was a sad truth that no one else had the guts to mention. "My mom died not long after having me. I don't wanna lose her too."

Violet kneeled down to his level, trying her best to be warm and inviting. "She'll be alright AJ. Ruby is watching over her and she's got medical skills coming out her ass."

Clementine's screams escaped the small room as Louis slid out the door, his chest was rising and falling dramatically. "I...I gotta go and see Omar about the food." He walked inside the shadows against the wall, his jittery hands didn't quell AJ's fears.

"Lou! Wait up," Violet caught up with her friend, trying to make eye contact with him. "How is she?"

Louis shrugged. "She's alive at least," His toes curled in his boots as her screams replayed in his mind. He had seen her cry, shout and beat a walker till his skull had turned to putty. But never scream from such pain. "I don't know what to do Vi. I hate seeing her like this."

Violet opened the door for Louis, taking note of his poor posture. "There's nothing you can really do about that Louis. Quit beating yourself up," She punched his shoulder with a little too much enthusiasm. "That's my job."

He smiled at his friend, grateful for what she was trying to do. "Hey, Chef Omar!" Louis called out, getting the attention of the young man who had been situated by the stew majority of the day.

"How is Clementine?" Omar's voice was calm and quiet, making Louis a tad jealous.

"She's alright, Ruby wanted to see how the food was doing."

He continued to stir the pot, taking a small peek into it. "It will be ready soon, I want to make sure it's right. I'll bring it in when it's complete."

Louis kicked a small pile of dirt at his feet. "Thanks, Omar," He nodded at the master chef before turning back on his heels, Violet following closely.

"I wish I was as calm as he was," Violet joked. "I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice." This time Louis held the door open for her, dreading the sight he'll be welcome to again once he goes back into Clementine's room.

_It's worse for her._

Ruby was standing outside with AJ closely wrapped in her arms. Louis picked up the pace, almost skidding past them completely. "Is everything okay?

"She's doing fine," Never had Ruby said something so beautiful. "She's been wantin' to talk to everyone, Tenn's in there now."

Louis placed a firm hand on AJ's shoulder, bringing his attention form Ruby. "You okay little dude?" He wasn't really little anymore, but the nickname brought comfort to both of them.

"I guess."

Ruby passed the kid into Louis's arms, smiling at Tenn as he walked out of the room. "She wants to talk to you, Louis."

He ran his hand through AJ's messy hair, granting him the whisper of a smile before returning to his humble abode. Clementine looked up from her belly, her comforting gaze slowed down his thumping heart.

"How you doing?" Clementine adjusted herself, flinching when her spine cracked in three places. "You had to go to a school with the worst mattresses didn't you?" She teased.

Louis closed the door gently and pulled up the stool next to her. "I should be the one asking if you're okay."

"But I asked first."

He took her hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm alright, been thinking of all the dad jokes I'll be able to make soon," Clementine's eyes welled up with tears, sending shivers down Louis's spine. "Are you still in pain?"

"I'm terrified," She admitted, a weight being lifted off her aching shoulders. There was a slight crack in her voice as she blinked away the tears. "What if I die Louis?" It felt like a punch to the chest, knocking the wind out of him. "It's a possibility..."

"No, don't talk like that-"

"-Can you please just listen?"

Louis clamped his mouth shut as Clem took a deep breath. "You know there is a chance I might, no point in ignoring it." She took both of his cold hands in her own, appreciating the callouses and fine lines that had developed over the years. "Just promise me you'll take care of AJ, please. He's lost enough already."

Of course, her primary concern was for AJ. Here she is, in pain, about to give birth, taking a risk to start a family. Yet her sole concern was for AJ, the person who taught her that love still exists. Her soul was stronger than steel.

"Of course my darlin'," He laid a ghostly kiss to her knuckles. "You will live through this Clem, you're a badass."

Clementine rolled her eyes, turning her head at the sound of the door handle rattling. AJ stood on the other side, his head hanging low, a small cup of water in his hands. "Violet thought you might want some." He passed the cracked cup onto her, letting the fresh glass cool down her palms.

"Thanks, kiddo. How are you doing?"

AJ sat on the side of the bed, prodding at the ground with the tip of his foot. "I'm okay. How are you?"

Clementine savoured the taste of fresh water before continuing. "I'm alright, just uncomfortable." Her body disagreed with her statement as another sharp pain hit her. Louis immediately swiped the cup from her hands as Clementine hunched over her stomach, biting her tongue to hold back the screams.

Ruby burst through the door, ushing AJ and Louis away. "Damn! I think she's headin' to stage two quicker than I thought."

Lous whipped his head at her. "What the fuck is stage two?"

"It means the baby is coming!"

Clementine reached for the tin bucket with nothing but pure urgency, throwing up all that water she had just consumed. "Oh god.." She mumbled into the grimy bucket.

AJ grabbed the towel from the dresser with trembling hands and passed it to Clem. "Thanks." She wiped her mouth with the damp fabric, trying her best not to notice the taste of vomit lingering on her tongue.

"Hey AJ," Violet called, her head sticking through the doorway. "Why don't you come out and hang with Tenn? Maybe you two and make a drawing for the baby."

"Alright," AJ was hesitant to leave, but he waved bye to Clem as he joined Tenn and his array of coloured pencils outside.

"Thought you could use some more privacy," Violet gave Clem a thumbs up as she closed the door once again.

Ruby laid some towels by Clem's legs. "You ready Clem?" She didn't have much of a choice, no matter how hard she shook her head. Louis pulled the stool closer to the bed, not letting go of her hand. "I'm right here, you're gonna be fine."

Clementine squeezed her eyes shut as Ruby started telling her to push, pulling the pillow out from beneath her and slamming her face into it, screaming until her lungs burned.

-

Violet was biting the skin around her nails now, eyes darting back and forth between the door and AJ.

"I'm sure she's fine,"

The screams on the other side of the door said otherwise.

"It's normal to be in pain, you remember what she told you?"

AJ nodded, recalling the day Clem told him she was pregnant.

_"That means you're having a baby, right?"_

_"Yeah, I am. I just want you to know that it will be hard, it isn't a fun thing to go through so I need you to be prepared when the day comes. Got it?"_

_AJ nodded, puffing out his chest. "I'll be ready."_

Safe to say he wasn't by the way his hands were clenched around the pencil, the tips of his knuckles turning white. "I know, just gotta breathe."

The smell of spices filled the noses of the trio as Omar and Willy came into view, each holding a small bowl of soup. "How is she?" Omar asked as he set the bowl next to AJ.

Violet eyed down the soup, wondering if Omar had any left over. "It just started, who knows how long it will take," She turned her attention to Willy, raising an eyebrow at his presence. "Why aren't you keeping watch?"

Willy's eyes darted back and forth between Vi and Omar. "I didn't want to miss it!"

-

_Oh. Fucking. **Shit.**_

Louis forgot how to breathe as he stared in abject horror at his girlfriend. The pillow still held tightly over her face, suffocating her monstrous cries. A wave of guilt washed over Louis as he murmured an apology to his own mom, she had to go through this shit twice!

"You're doing great Clem," Ruby reassured. "Just keep calm."

Clementine flung the pillow off her head, slamming it into the wall beside her. "How can I be calm?!" She shouted. It had become a routine, say something nice to Clem and she'd bite your head off.

"It'll be over soon," Louis squeezed her hand for the umpteenth time. "Want to hear a story?"

"Those only work on AJ!"

"Alrighty then, how about a song?" Louis cleared his throat, earning a signature eye roll from Ruby.

"Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin' Clementine. You are sweet and full of sunshine,"

He noted the stare she was giving him, returning it with a smile. "I'm not sorry Clementine." His lyrics brought a vivid blush to her cheeks, her heart rate slowing down at his soft-spoken voice.

"Bright she was and like an angel, she was loved by everyone. Helping others soon a mother, how I love you, Clementine."

They gazed into each other's eyes as Louis stroked her cheek, wiping her tears away. His mouth opened slightly, two words getting caught in the back of his throat.

"Marry me."

It was only a whisper, yet it carried such a weighty promise. Clementine's jaw hung open, unsure of what to say. Her silence suddenly morphed into an uncontrolled shriek that shook Ruby to the core.

"It's just the baby's shoulders, Clem, it's gonna hurt a lot."

And oh boy it did. The sharp stab of dog teeth, the sting of a bullet to the chest, the shocking pain of losing a finger, all were little paper cuts compared to this.

"Fuck!" Clementine yelled as Louis winced, she had a hell of a strong grip on him. She tried her best to sit still, her torso bending each time the pain wracked her body. It felt like annular nails were being dragged down her body over and over again.

And just like magic, it stopped.

It was over as quickly as it had begun. Clementine gave a loud gasp as the pain - that could only be described as unholy - vanished from her body. It was replaced by the blissful sound of a gurgle, then a small cry.

Ruby chuckled, tears immediately brimming her eyes. "It's a girl Clem."

Had he not been sitting, Louis would have fallen to the floor. "A girl?" He whispered.

Clem slowly lifted herself onto her elbows and through blurry vision, saw a small being in Ruby's arms.

Ruby wiped the baby clean with a damp cloth, cut the cord with a quick snip and wrapped her up in a decently clean blanket. "I knew you could do it," She passed the baby onto Louis. "I'll give y'all some time alone." Ruby wiped her hands clean for the final time before leaving the room, immediately telling the anxious bunch on the other side to be quiet.

He held her like she was made of glass. "She's so...small."

Clementine let out a well-awaited giggle that turned into a raspy coughing fit. "You're prediction was wrong. She certainly isn't a boy."

Louis shook his head. "I don't care, she's perfect Clem," He poked the very tip of the small girl's nose, marvelling at how delicate it was. "You did amazing."

"It sucked, but you were right. She was worth it." She laid back down onto her back, her hand slowly stroking the baby's stomach. "Did you mean what you said? About wanting to...get married?"

Louis lifted his head up, giving Clem a toothy grin. "Of course. Clementine, my darlin', will you ma-"

She didn't bother to wait for him, not when she already knew her answer. "Yes."

"Ah, well," He swallowed back the rest of his romantic speech. "That's good, yay!" Louis hesitantly removed one arm from the baby and dug around in his pocket, pulling out a dull ring. "I know it isn't a lot but-"

"Where did you find it?" Clem stared at the ring, trying to make out what the engraving was on the outside. It was still a lovely ring, gold flecks shined through the rust, glowing against the midday sun.

"When I was checking the traps with Aasim today. I saw it near our rabbit traps and I just knew that this was right. I love you, so much and nothing can take that away."

Clementine bit her lip, a smirk creeping onto her face. "I love you too."

He slowly slipped the ring onto her finger, pulling her into a kiss as soon as it was securely on.

The violent pounding on the door broke them out of their fantasy world. "Can we come in yet we're dying out here!" Violet called out from the other side.

"Come in!" Louis called. Immediately the door was swung open, a hustle of kids bounding inside.

"Let's get a glimpse of the kid," Violet leaned over Louis, slamming her foot into the ground as soon as she saw that precious face. "She's fucking cute Louis. You sure she's yours?"

That earned a punch to the arm from Louis. "I am positive. Don't even try to deny my handsome features."

AJ pushed his way through the crowd, going straight to Clem's side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just sore and tired." She gave his shoulder a light squeeze, the look of relief on his face helped soothe her own worries.

AJ turned to the little girl, wondering why people thought she was cute. She looked more like an alien. "What's her name?"

Louis and Clementine glanced at each other, trying their best to play it innocently. "Well..."

Violet threw her hands into the air. "You guys still haven't decided?!"

 

**ONE YEAR LATER:**

 

"This one is the A key, then here we got the B key, and you have no idea what I'm saying do you?" Louis poked the chubby cheek of the little girl in his lap.

_His little girl._

"That's okay, we'll make a master pianist out of you someday." The girl gave a little babble, her slender fingers reaching for the keys. The way they shined nabbed her attention.

Louis pushed her forward slightly, allowing her to reach the C key. She pressed it slowly, jumping at the sound.

"Nice work, Diana. You're a natural," He tickled her stomach, the girl erupting into gurgled laughter. "I wanted to name you Mozart, but your mom wouldn't have it. It's a shame really, but see the thing is I'm totally whipped, so whatever your mom says goes. We love her though, so it's all good."

The creaking of the grand door caught Diane's attention, her big brown eyes darting between Louis and the sound.

"Am I interrupting?" Clementine slid her body in, smiling at the sight she was welcomed to. She sat herself down next to Louis, shaking Diana's little finger.

"Just trying to teach this one how to play," Louis kissed Clem's cheek, trying his best to not laugh at Diana's bewildered expression.

"Lou she doesn't even know how to walk properly."

"Nonetheless, she's gonna do so many amazing things," He moved her over to Clem's lap, the girl latching onto her mother's coat instantly. "Like her mom."

Clementine pushed his shoulder, his words turning her heart to complete and utter mush. "You're a weirdo."

"But you married this weirdo. What does that say about you?" Louis poked the side of her stomach, bringing out a gentle giggle from her.

Clementine pretended to think over it. "That I'm a lucky girl?"

To this day she can still make his heart do cartwheels. "I reckon we're both lucky." He cracked his knuckles before spreading his hands over the keys, playing a familiar tune that brought Clem endless peace.

"I'll write you a song one day Diana when you're older and able to understand what it means. For now, you can just sit there and look as adorable as ever."

Clementine leaned her head against Louis's shoulder, letting the smooth music to lull her into a calm state. She ran her hand over Diana's back, her eyes drooping quickly.

The world had slowed down long enough for the family to be just that; a family. No one, living or dead, could tear them apart.


	7. Not Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine is caught in a dire situation as Louis is forced to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Violence!!

It was a disgusting and heartbreaking sight, seeing her on the brink of death.

"Don't touch her!"

The blood-thirsty stranger laid another punch to Clementine's stomach, sending her to the ground.

"Get the fuck off!"

Louis tried to wiggle his way out of the female raiders grasp but she pushed the barrel of the shotgun further into his neck. This is it, this is what their attempted rescue mission had come to. Clementine and Louis went off to find Lily and finish it once and for all, but they were ambushed by two raiders. Their attempts at defending themselves were short-lived and one of the raiders now had Clementine at his mercy.

"Let...him go," Clementine mumbled, coughing up even more blood than thought possible. Her head was spinning like crazy, all that she could see was Louis being held at gunpoint and that frightened her, more than her own current state. "Please don't...don't hurt him."

"Lily ain't here to save you," he snarked, laying a kick to the side of her head. "I've been wanting to do that since I saw your stupid face at the school."

Pain. There was so much pain swirling through her body, it felt like there was a fire in her head. She's been bitten, shot at and slapped, but it always ended. This was a new form of pain, it was going to be the last thing she would ever feel.

"Clementine!" Louis screamed again. She was so close, he could run over and save her within five steps. But her mind was half gone, flickering in and out of consciousness. She tried to get back onto her feet but immediately fell against the brick wall, her attempts at fighting back growing futile.

"You really don't know when to quit," The raiders voice didn't sound human, no person could ever speak with such hatred and evil. He pulled a tattered knife out of his back pocket, it fashioned previous blood stains, making Clementine wonder how many people this group had hurt. She knew it was too many.

"Don't!" Louis grabbed the gun and tried to rip it out of the woman's hands, but Clementine's gut-wrenching screams distracted him. He received a sharp hit to the back of the neck and fell to the floor alongside Clementine. Blood oozed out of a deep gash on her right hand. "Stop! Please!"

The male raider turned his attention over to Louis, wiping the excess blood from his knife onto his shirt. "How about you shut the fuck-"

"Y-you can have me instead! Kick me, shoot me, kill me I don't care! Just leave her the fuck alone!" His voice broke, losing it to his own anger. Tears blurred his vision as he tried to find signs of life in Clementine. Her eyes were shut and her small intakes of breath had now completely stopped. Blood was gushing out of her ears, mouth and the multiple bruises on her body, it was inhumane.

The man laughed at Louis's candour. "You are so stupid," He sauntered over to Louis and drove the knife into his shoulder, bringing out an ear-piercing scream that echoed all around. "Don't make promises you can't keep." The two raiders ran off, content with the damage they had done.

Louis stretched out his hand, desperate to grab Clementine. "Come on...wake up..." He managed to graze the tips of her fingers before passing out himself, letting the darkness take the pain away.


	8. Stay With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine brings back devasting news, with the evidence to back it up. Louis can't handle it.

_"I should have gone with them,"_  Louis thought as he paced around the courtyard for what felt like the 100th time that night.  _"Fuck would you stop worrying. They're all fine, she's fine."_

When leaving the school to go on the hunt for the other kids, Clementine made Louis stay behind to protect AJ, Tenn, and Willy. Basically, it was just babysitting duty. An argument ensued but ultimately Clementine won, a trend Louis could sense was going to become popular in their relationship.

"Guys! I can see them!" Willy called it. It was the first time Louis was genuinely thankful for his loud voice. Willy immediately climbed down the ladder from his lookout post and opened the gate, eager to bring everyone to safety. Tenn, AJ and Louis were immediately trying to make sense of the figures hidden in the fog.

There was Aasim, who was profusely bleeding from his left shoulder with Ruby tentatively watching him. Omar had a slight limp and Rosie had blood dripping from her mouth. Tenn saw them first, Minnie and Sophie, holding onto each other so tightly. He ran to them with all his might, crying out their names as the two girls ran to meet their brother. It warmed AJ's heart to see his friend finally heal.

Violet had been leading the crowd, she too had a limp and a mighty bruise on her forehead. His major worry was quelled when he saw Clementine walking beside her, acting as a crutch for Violet. Her clothes were drenched in blood.

Louis immediately ran over to them as soon as they were in the gate, snatching them both in a hug. "I'm so glad you're both safe."

Both of the girls stayed silent. Violet couldn't handle it, she wandered over to Ruby and Aasim in desperate need of medical attention.

He looked at Clementine with a smile of relief, one that she didn't reciprocate. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, her lips trembling. "I..." Clementine couldn't find the right words to make the situation okay, it would never be okay. Her legs gave way beneath her and she fell onto Louis, yelling from the pain that shot up her entire body.

Louis frantically caught her and helped her back onto her own feet. AJ had wandered over to see what the fuss was about, eager to see Clementine in one piece. He ran over to her, arms open ready to reunite with her, but she pulled away at the last second.

"I...I can't AJ, I'm so sorry," Clementine coughed, a small amount of blood pooling in her mouth.

Louis grabbed her hand and held onto it tightly, ignoring her vicious movements to pull away. "Clementine, what happened?"

His stern voice demanded an answer, slowly Clementine reached up to the collar of her shirt and pulled the torn fabric away, revealing a pulsing bite mark.

It couldn't be real, no fucking way was it real. "What happened?!" Louis yelled.

Clementine was still replaying the situation over and over in her head. "It happened so fast...we had made it outside the building but a hoard of walkers had heard our gunshots. We tried to sneak through but one of them grabbed Aasim, I pushed him out of the way but the walker grabbed me instead."

Her eyes were closed and her skin was already pale. Louis couldn't help the tears that ran down his cheeks. "Clementine...not you. Please!" Louis yelled as he pulled at his dreadlocks, his voice became very hoarse and jagged. His heart had split into fragments, a broken vessel. He pressed his forehead against her own, desperate to feel her, she's been through too much to die from a fucking walker bite.

"We can fix it, I know we can! Abel survived his bite." Louis began spouting gibberish, all his comedic material had finally hit its end.

Clementine shook her head. "It's too late, you know how this has to end."

"No. No fucking way. We'll get help!" He shouted, desperate for a miracle.

"What good will it do to prevent the inevitable?" She retaliated. The pain in his eyes reflected how he felt inside, knowing that she caused such grief...god it made her want to die faster.

"You have to stay! For AJ, for me! I promise I will make you happier than you ever thought you could be." He whispered as he took her small hands in his calloused ones, their cold ambience sent shivers all over him.

"You've already done that," She smiled, remembering the little moments between them that made her fall head over heels for him. "This has to end now. I can't...I won't become a walker."

Louis's sobs broke the hearts of everyone around him, AJ had buried himself in a hug from Tenn and Willy, their clothes burying his cries. "I'm so sorry Louis," Clementine sniffled as she reached for the gun in her back pocket. "I won't make you do it." With a swift motion, she pushed away from Louis and had the gun at her head, the last bullet saved for herself.

AJ slammed into her, almost knocking her down again. "No! You can't die! I was supposed to protect you!"

Clementine ran her hand through his afro. "You've done such a good job, I couldn't be more proud. I'm doing this so I can't hurt anyone. I'm going to atone, remember when we talked about that? It's my turn now," She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "I love you AJ."

"I love you back..."

Ruby had to pull AJ away from Clementine's grasp, he began to kick and scream, begging to be released. But Ruby kept a tight grip on him.

"Thank you. All of you, for what you've done for AJ and me," Clementine looked at the group of kids around her, her friends and now her family. "Take care of him, please."

"Stop!" Louis shouted again. "I can't say goodbye, I can't, I won't!"

Clementine just smiled, knowing how desperate Louis was for her own survival. She wishes that her life had a different outcome, that she came back fine as ever and lived out the rest of her days in this school surrounded by the people she had grown to care immensely for. "I know you, I know you'll stay strong. You still have my initial on the piano, as long as it's there I'll be with you."

Louis mouthed something to Clementine, her blurry vision made it hard to understand, but she saw 'love' and that was all she needed to know. Her smile faltered as she cocked the gun, the sound almost made her gag. This was what it had come to, how ironic. Clementine breathed in one last time, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

The world felt like it was caving in, rain started to slam onto the group, but no one cared. He couldn't hold it any longer, Louis screamed, his voice as harsh as the rain. It was all over, the last ray of sunshine had vanished from Earth. Everyone's tears mixed with the rainwater as they watched a friend die and another grieve, his pain reaching a new state that no one had ever seen before. He tried to imagine a world without Clementine...and what a worthless world it was.


	9. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the apocalypse, Clementine and Louis were childhood friends. But then he moved away and she thought they'd never see each other again. Until now.

_Her innocent eyes filled with tears as soon as he let out the news. He was supposed to keep it a secret until his parents told her parents, but how could he keep it from her?_

_"You're...moving?" A young Clementine questioned her best friend. Louis was leaving her? But what happened to their many_ pinky _promises to stay friends forever? They even promised each other that one day they'd get married._

_"Yeah, I dunno when," It hurt more telling Clementine than hearing it from his parents. Louis swung his little legs back and forth on the swing beside Clem, his dad always told him that one day he'd grow tall enough to be able to touch the ground. One day. "You really can't tell anyone Clem."_

_She nodded, understanding the weight of such a secret. "I promise," Clementine looked over at her friend, wishing for more time. "I'll miss you." She couldn't hold the tears back anymore, one slowly rolled down her cheek, glimmering under the spring sun._

_"Aw_ don't _cry, Clem! We'll talk all the time! I'll always be your Prince Charming," Louis hopped off the swing, grabbing Clementine's hand as he flashed her a confident smile and ran back inside his house. "And we still have to get married!_ No _take backs!"_

_Clementine giggled ever so lightly as Louis yanked all the pillows from his lounge. "Time to make a legendary fort!" They ran between rooms in the house pinching all the pillows like the ninjas they were. The end result? A cornucopia of pillows and blankets in the corner of Louis's bedroom. A masterpiece._

_They crawled inside and Louis turned on his flashlight, helping Clementine to feel safer. "We're best friends forever, right Clem?"_

_"Yeah! Always." Her eager answer brought a blush to Louis's baby cheeks. Even for a child of his maturity, he knew that this was going to be challenging for both of them, but they were meant to be and nothing could ever change that._

**-**

No one expected the world to go to shit.

Louis was awkwardly pressing keys on his piano, trying to figure out how to calm down this child, nothing Ruby was doing seemed to work. It was understandable, waking up in a new place with all these new faces would shake anyone. He kept asking "where is she?" and "is she okay?", but never giving a definite name.

"Hey little dude, have you heard of Elton John?" It was a long shot, hoping that this kid had some knowledge of the old world.

He shook his head. "Who's that?" It calmed him down enough to the point where Ruby could let go of his hand without fearing he'd run off.

"Only one of the greatest musicians of life, besides me of course. Let me show you," Louis cracked his neck, ignoring how much it actually hurt. His fingers pranced between the keys, remembering a simpler time. Days spent at the beach, underneath a neon blue sky, inside a treehouse beside his best friend-

Louis pressed the wrong key, getting distracted by his relentless memories. It had been almost ten years since he's seen her and yet she still runs across his mind day and night. Was she happy? Did she still enjoy colouring? Was she even alive?

_Now that's a dark thought._

A cry from Ruby sent a cold shiver down his spine. He whipped his head towards her and saw her grasping at her own hand, her face scrunched up. "Goddammit! Don't bite me!" Ruby yelled as she turned on her heels and stormed out, her anger getting the best of her once again.

"I didn't mean to," The boy mumbled at Louis. "She scared me."

Louis gave him a comforting smile. "I know little dude, don't worry about it." He turned back to the piano and focused on the keys and only on the keys this time.

The creaking of the door didn't phase him, maybe Ruby decided to face the tyke after all.

"Clem!"

_Excuse me?_

He was too scared to look over, could it be? No certainly not, there were other people in the world named Clementine. It couldn't be his Clementine, part of him couldn't help but hope. Louis put on a brave smile and flung his leg over the seat, but the bravery was short lived when he saw those familiar eyes.

"Clementine?"

It was her, the little girl who he'd wonder about on sleepless nights and early mornings. She certainly wasn't little anymore, she had grown taller and her jawline had sharpened. But her bronze eyes still carried a sparkle and that hat. That hat he would tease her about had not left her side. She was strong, a clear aroma of 'don't fuck with me' surrounding her.

She was clearly surprised by his presence as well, her eyes welling up with tears. Did she recognize him? Or was she just afraid?

He couldn't help but rise up from his seat, already taking small steps towards her. "I don't know if you remember me-"

"-You're alive!" Clementine cried as she let herself go, wrapping him up in her frail arms. Her body was just as warm as it had ever been and he greedily took all of it. Louis wrapped his arms around the small of her back and squeezed her so tight she could have popped.

They didn't pull away, even when the small boy beside them coughed. It was too good to be true, Louis even pinched himself to prove it wasn't a dream, almost crying tears of joy when he didn't wake up.

"I've missed you," What more was there to tell her? Three words so simple and yet such a heavyweight to burden. There was always a 'what if' lingering in the back of their minds. What if they never saw each other again?

Clementine smiled into his shoulder, appreciating how the difference in height had remained the same, her head resting over his chest, relaxing to the beat of his heart. "Me too."

Louis pulled away first but kept his hands on her shoulders. "What are you doing here? How are you, where have you been?" All these questions came flooding out of his mouth, desperate for answers.

"I was in the car crash your people saved AJ and me from. I'm fine and I've been...to so many places, let's just say that," She scrubbed at the tears threatening to spill out. "I could ask you the same, it's been so long."

Louis gently rubbed some dirt off her cheek. "Too long."

By impulse, she reached up and placed her hand over his, fingers grazing his knuckles. "Told you we'd be best friends forever."

"And I'm still waiting on that marriage proposal, we did agree no take backs."

She laughed at the silly promise and all the others they had made. These promises kept her going in the darkest of times, but he's here. He's here and he's  _alive._

Louis embraced her laughter, missing it had become a full-time job for him. "Please don't take this the wrong way - I am so glad you got into that car crash."


	10. Spooky Scary Skeletons (Modern AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Halloween night and the Ericson kids are hosting their annual costume party, but it seems that horror and scares aren't all that's in store.

Clementine adjusted the little ears on her head for the fourth time, this is why she hated headbands. They could never stay in place  _what the fuck?_  But she had to admit, these did look kinda cute. They were only small and the left ear flopped to the side, a literal price to pay for cheap accessories.

Her phone vibrated from her back pocket, immediately knowing who it was. Her suspicions were confirmed when she unlocked it and saw Violet's name appear in the centre of the screen.

_'I'm outside, get that ass in gear'_

Clementine shoved her phone back into its designated spot, checking her costume out in the mirror one more time. It wasn't the greatest werewolf costume, she may have overdone it with the fluffy tail. But the studded collar and fangs were pretty cool, it'll have to do. Clementine gave her little brother AJ a quick hug and the promise to bring him back some candy, preferably Jolly Ranchers. The red ones. Her adoptive father - busy at his desk as always - wanted to tell her how to be safe and what to do if a dangerous situation was brought up. Lee looked up at Clementine, a look in her eyes that seemed to say  _"are you going to lecture me again?"_

"Have fun, let me know if you're going to be home late. I love you, Sweetpea."

She appreciated the level of trust he had for her. Lee knew how level-headed Clementine was, it was the rest of the world that posed a threat. "I love you too Lee, have fun marking papers." Lee laughed, immediately doubting her wish.

Clementine opened her front door and there was Violet in all her spooky glory, nodding her head to whatever song was on the radio. The straw hat on her head gave Clementine a hint as to what her costume was. She slid into the passenger side, appreciating the music. "Happy Halloween Vi."

"It's spooky season bitch," Violet turned down the radio reluctantly. "Louis was talking shit about me, saying I have 'straw for hair', so I figured a Scarecrow was perfect for me."

Violet pushed her foot down onto the accelerator, zooming out of the street. "What are you supposed to be? A puppy I picked up off the streets?"

Clementine poked her tongue out. "I'm a werewolf, notice the teeth?" She flashed her fake pearly whites at Violet. "I even picked myself up a tail."

"Oh my god, that's rich," Violet saw Clementine squirm in her seat from the corner of her eye. That tail must not be comfy to sit on. "You keen?"

"I am actually. We haven't all gone out in a while, with exams and everything." Clementine shielded her eyes from the setting sun. Houses decorated in Halloween decor zoomed past, a blur of orange, black and white. Marlon's house was usually the hub for parties, given that it was a large place and his parents were usually on trips to fix their sham of a marriage. "I'm excited to see what Ruby and Sophie have done with the decorations."

"Apparently they had a couple fights about it. Sophie wanted blood and gore and Ruby wanted to keep is classy with fake ghosts and cobwebs. So who the fuck knows what we're walking into."

When the small group of kids decided to have a Halloween party for the third year in a row Ruby, Sophie, Minnie and Aasim immediately wanted to help. Louis and Marlon joked that Aasim just wanted to spend personal time with Ruby, but hey who knows. Ruby and Sophie wanted to work on the decor, Minnie called DJ and Aasim wanted to organise food and drink (it was really the only job left).

"I think Louis will really appreciate your costume," Violet sniggered.

"What makes you say that?"

Violet stayed quiet, making Clementine a little antsy. She bit her bottom lip, immediately flinching from the sting of her fake teeth. Why would Louis, of all people, appreciate her dumb costume?

Would he make fun of her?

_"Of course, he'll make fun of you, it's Louis."_

Clementine wrapped her arms around her stomach, clenching a little too hard, something that didn't slip past Violet.

"What's wrong Clem?"

"It's just, Louis and I had an argument a couple days ago-"

"-You mean the one where you were both yelling at each other in the middle of the quad?"

Clementine rested her head against her palm, fiddling with her earring. "He refuses to get his priorities in check Vi. We graduate high school in two weeks and he still has his head in the clouds."

All Violet did was shrug. "That's just Louis. He has never planned for the future and probably never will. It's annoying, really fucking annoying. But that's him and we can't change that."

Violet's words held a lot of truth. A truth that Clementine needed to hear, regardless, this party was sure going to be awkward.

"You two certainly bicker like an old married couple."

Clementine ignored the quip and the blush settling on her ears. Fighting with anyone was never easy, especially Louis, who could never hurt a fly. When she closed her eyes his harsh tone stung her brain like venom.

It was obvious which house on the street was having a party. The garden along the fence had fake tombstones and spiders crawling amongst the daisies. On Marlon's front door there was a sign 'WARNING TO ALL WHO ENTER HERE'.

"Something tells me Ruby decorated outside," Violet slammed her door shut, not really giving a shit about the piece of junk. "Let's rock this bitch."

Clementine could hear the music from across the road, praying for the safety of her ears. She slammed her fist against the door, trying to figure out who the shadows on the other side of the glass belonged to.

A tipsy Marlon opened the door as best as he could, cheering when he saw it was more of his compadres. "Welcome friends and fans!"

Violet could smell the liquor on his breath, scrunching her nose in disgust. "You're already drinking?"

"Go big or go home, Vi!" Marlon played with the plastic sword attached to his hip, he made a good pirate. "Come on in, you two are the last to arrive."

It was an array of Halloween-theme crap. Orange and black streamers decked out the stairwell, cobwebs were strewn along the corners of the room and the large skeleton in the corner seemed to stare into Clementine's soul. Fake blood dripped down the stairwell, pooling by the front door.

Her and Violet went their separate ways once she made eye contact with Minnie, who was dancing with Sophie in the kitchen like a maniac. Both were dressed as the twins from The Shining. Clementine appreciated how Ruby and Sophie banded forces, despite their different interests. Everyone seemed to take their costumes quite seriously. Brody was a killer zombie, fake blood painted along the side of her head and bite marks along her arm. Aasim was Frankenstein's monster, even sporting the bolts along the side of his neck. Ruby was Merida, telling Mitch about the mechanics of her bow. Omar was...a bloody chef? Literally, there was blood on his apron. But where was...

"Boo!"

Clementine jumped three feet in the air, finding her answer.

She turned around and saw Louis in hysterics. "Don't do that Louis! I hate being scared."

"Sorry, not sorry Clem, your reaction was priceless. And adorable I might add," He gave her a signature wink. "So what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a werewolf," Clementine stroked her tail, fingers running through the knots. He seemed to be fine, not reflecting any ounce of frustration. Not compared to how it was after their fight at least.

"Good choice. I am Count Louis, the scariest vampire ever," He smiled, revealing his plastic fangs.

Clementine smirked. "According to certain theories, we're supposed to hate each other." Pretty fitting theory given the circumstances.

Louis appeared offended, how could he ever hate her? Even if she yelled at him two days ago in front of everyone. "I could never ever hate you Clementine, so I think this calls for a peace treaty," He grasped her hand and shook it viciously. "Let this so-called war end!"

The handshake had a double meaning, _'I'm a vampire and you're a werewolf so according to ancient theories we hate each other and thus this joke is written within history!'_ and _'I'm sorry for being a shithead to you for no logical reason other than I'm terrified to graduate.'_

Yeah, Clementine was almost sure of that.

She laughed wholeheartedly at his dramatic nature, he certainly belonged in the Drama Club. Clementine took note of the sudden shift in song, going from 'This Is Halloween' to 'Spooky Scary Skeletons'. She couldn't help but tap her foot along to the remix.

"Minnie certainly knows how to put together an appropriate playlist."

Louis gulped down the last of his water. He didn't want to end up like Marlon, who would most likely be hanging near the toilet by the end of the night. "Never took you to enjoy Spooky Scary Skeletons."

"Who doesn't like that song?"

He tipped his head to her. "Touche," Louis started to mouth the lyrics, not breaking eye contact with Clementine. "You send shivers down my spine." His flirtatious remark caught Clementine off guard. Why was he such a good wordsmith? All she could do was stutter, a reaction Louis was proud of.

There it was again, a moment of chemistry between the two Clementine could add to the ongoing list. It seemed the universe was binding them together, stringing them along until one became brave enough to voice their feelings. That was a new level of bravery Clementine wasn't ready for.

Then again Louis wasn't either.

"Alright guys, let's play a game!" Marlon called, standing on the coffee table in the centre of the living room. His voice boomed over the music, promptly being turned down by Aasim. "It's a game for creatures alike."

"You notice how when Marlon drinks he becomes more like Louis?" Violet whispered to Brody, who rolled her eyes. She had tried countless times to convince Marlon to not drink, to go to one party without it. He never hears her warnings.

"It's simple, Truth or Dare!" Marlon wasn't expecting everyone to groan in annoyance, yeesh. "What's so wrong with that?"

"We play that game all the time!"

"That's the best you could think of?"

"I'm flattered my gaming skills are rubbing off on you Marlon."

Reluctantly everyone gathered in a circle, Louis was the only one smiling like a madman. Clementine could have sworn she saw Louis inch closer to her as they sat down, probably nothing. Probably.

"Eenie, meenie, miney, Mitch," Marlon pointed at the man with a Michael Myers mask, his groan ruining his silent ambience.

"Dare, give me your worst."

"Eat a banana with the skin on."

"That's fucking weak."

Marlon threw his plastic sword at Mitch, denting his rubber mask. Violet was the closest to the kitchen, she reached over to the fruit bowl and threw the banana at Mitch. Why was everyone throwing shit?

Now that he actually had to do it, Mitch was having...second thoughts. He slowly lifted up his mask, revealing an obvious look of disgust on his face. _"It better be ripe."_  Mitch's teeth munched down onto the treat, the bitter taste immediately causing his tongue to curl.

The man couldn't do it, the one bite was enough for him to spit it out onto the wooden floor. "Fuck that Marlon, it's gross."

Marlon couldn't stop eyeing down the mess. "Did you seriously just spit it onto my floor?"

Mitch ignored him as he adjusted his mask, grating his teeth over his tongue to remove the taste. "I pick, Louis. You think you're so fucking good at games."

Louis cracked his knuckles, trying not to wince at how much it actually hurt. "Dare, Mr Michael Myers."

"I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. I say 'girl' and not 'person' cause let's face it I'd smoke all you bitches."

Louis didn't need to scan the room, he didn't need to ponder on who the prettiest - hell the most jaw-dropping - girl was. After all, she was sitting right beside him. No one was shocked when Louis turned his head and kissed Clementine, smack on the lips too. It was as obvious as the liquor on Marlons' breath. Louis's blood curdled in his veins, was it caused by excitement or nerves? Who knew, maybe both.

It wasn't how he had imagined it, in front of their friends caused by a dare. Really it was the polar opposite of how he pictured it. She pulled away first, her eyes filled to the brim with confusion. Louis was expecting her to crack a joke, hell even hit him.

But storming out into the backyard?

_No one expected that shit._

It was a punch to the gut, for everyone. Tension hung above their heads like a cloud in winter. Louis stared at the ground from where she moved from, feeling empty from her lacking presence. He pushed himself to his feet and ran out for her, desperate to dig himself out whatever hole Clementine was going to bury him in.

She was sitting by the pool, feet wadding in the water. She didn't seem angry, just oddly calm. Louis slid down next to her, watching how she drew patterns in the water with her toes. "I'm sorry for ambushing you." His voice was crackly, desperate to find a safe ground with her.

"It's fine, you were dared to. That's the whole point."

Her voice was eerie, there was no anger but no empathy. Just a hollow sound.

"No I took it too far, I should have asked first."

"It's weird. We fight two days ago and now you want to kiss me - it's just a lot, Louis." Clementine didn't look up at him, not wanting to fall deeper than she already had.

"I know, it is weird. I guess I just thought we had forgiven each other. We're cool, right?" He tried to meet her eyes, his heart pulsing faster everytime she turned her head further from him. He could feel his throat tightening, losing any potential feelings Clementine could have for him was bad but losing a close friend? That would kill him.

"Yeah, we are," She dragged her feet out of the water and shook them dry. "I'm sorry for fighting with you. To be honest, I don't know what I want to do after school either. I guess I was just projecting on you, hoping that someone could provide guidance."

She turned to look at him this time, the ripples in the water creating abstract shadows on her face. "I'm sorry too, for getting defensive. I hear shit like that from my teachers every day, it was weird hearing it from you, even if you are totally right."

"You don't have to have direction Louis-"

"-But I should, we're going into the adult world and I don't know what the fuck that even means," Louis looked at his reflection, wondering about the man he had become. "I don't know who or what I want to be."

Clementine's heart sunk into the pit of her stomach, knowing that Louis carried such a heavy burden, had she known it wouldn't have been brought up.

"Well, who you are now is perfectly fine to me."

His eyes lit up at such a simple sentence, his ever-so-charming smile returning. "I am sure of one thing, however," Louis shimmied a little closer, so close their knuckles almost brushed. "I want to be someone who is good in your eyes."

This time he waited for Clementine to kiss him. Their plastic teeth clinked together but neither gave a damn. The moon above slipped behind a cloud, giving the two the privacy to be brave.

Finally.


	11. What We Were (And What Shall Never Be Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being exiled from Ericson, Clementine vowed to never return. But when she runs into an old face she loses all self-control.

Clementine dipped her toes into the water, bored out of her mind. Memories of sunny afternoons crossed her mind. The day her parents installed a pool was a special one. She was five and her parents had finally decided to fill up the empty space in the backyard. The bouncy water was daring at first glance, if her feet couldn’t touch the bottom how could she get back to the surface?

Now Clementine would gladly tip into the water and sink.

She started to sing. Something she hadn’t done for nearly two years.

“Row row row your boat, gently down the stream,” She looked at her fractured reflection, not recognising herself anymore. “Merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream.”

Winter was so much colder without him, that goofy smile, his laugh. Clementine wiped the tears setting in the corner of her eyes. God, just when she thought she had nothing left to give. Her nights were heavy nightmares that continued to weigh her down during the day.

With great strain she rose back to her feet, shaking her shoes dry. Water had seeped through the holes and into her socks, making her toes squishy. As she trudged through the overgrown grass she ran her hands over the trees. Her steps were weightless, unguided.

She could hear the crunching of leaves eerily close by, slowly reaching for her pocket knife. It wasn’t much, maybe this will be a fight she’ll finally lose. Clementine jumped from around the tree, seeing a young man standing nearby pointing a bow at her, arrow ready to fire.

He lowered it instantly when he took note of that crusty hat.

“Clementine?”

“Fuck,” She whispered. Of all the people to run into. His stance grew small as their eyes connected, his shoulders falling. “Never thought I’d see you again Louis.”

He threw his weapon to the ground, marching closer to her.  “Oh my god...I thought...I thought you were dead,” Louis was three steps away from her when she pressed the very tip of her knife to his throat.

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

His breath got caught in his throat, eyes widening in this newfound fear of her. “Woah, what...what is this for?”

There was this deep-rooted anger penetrating through her eyes, and it seemed directly targeted at him  
“Don’t play dumb with me, you know what you did.”

Louis backed away slowly from the threatening weapon, feeling some sense of ease as Clementine lowered it. Deep inside, he knew why she was upset, why it was directed at him. How could he forget such a day? It was one of the worst of his life.

“I’m sorry Clem, for the shit I put you through-”

She rolled her eyes. “Fuck you, Louis,”

Never had such simple words cut him so deep. They formed a dagger that repeatedly scratched at his heart with every second of silence that went by them. He stood there, motionless, for once his mouth couldn’t run off with a joke.

“If you hadn’t sent us away, AJ never would have been-”  Clementine bit her tongue, drawing small amounts of foul blood.

“What do you mean? What happened to AJ?” It was only just now that Louis noticed his lack of presence. It was as if half of Clementine was gone, without that little boy she was incomplete.

She turned her eyes to some purple flowers by her feet, wondering how they could stand so beautiful in a shitty world. “Not long after you and Violet left us, we ran into trouble. Some people showed up and AJ got shot. We found a stranger who helped him, but the fever grew too strong and eventually,” Clementine hated how her voice cracked, how her eyes were brimming with even more tears. “I had to shoot him in the head. Can you fucking imagine what that was like? Shooting a six-year-old boy in the head just so he won’t become a monster.”

She remembered how hard he cried, how much he begged her to shoot him. It was a torturous pain that had settled into her bones, bringing her misery day and night.

Now Louis was crying, hands shaking by his sides. “Fuck...I can’t...I’m so sorry.” He wanted nothing more than to take away such awful memories, to turn back time and not act like such a fucking moron, to hold her and allow her to breathe at ease again-

“You don’t get to be sorry.”

But it was a one-sided conversation.

“You could have come back to Ericson, we would have helped.”

Clementine let out a laugh mangled with sarcasm. “Don’t try and put the blame on me. Like you would have let us back in after what happened.”

“You could have at least tried. Given the shit we went through we could have used your help.”

Concern and curiosity fueled Clementine’s thoughts. “What happened?”

Louis aimlessly swung Chairles in the space around him like a child who got caught doing something bad. “We got attacked by a group of raiders, the same ones who took Sophie and Minnie. We tried to fight them but we weren’t ready. They took Aasim, Omar and Violet,” This wasn’t the same Louis she left behind two years ago. There was no more spark of hope in his eyes, yet for such a stoic face he talked so lightly. “We searched for them day and night but no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t find the camp. No one knows if they’re alive, dead or somehow worse.”

Clementine found herself wandering closer to him without a second thought, naturally giving into those small feelings that seemed to flourish near him. “I’m sorry Louis,” Somehow that softened the blow of the start of their conversation. She was an enigma, sharp and cold one minute and softer than a flower petal the next. “So, uh, what brings you this far out?”

There was a mutual understanding, woven together by the pain they had endured.

“I’m trying to find some food. Willy is sick so, the kid needs a meal. He hasn’t been the same since Mitch died.”

Clementine accidentally set free a croaky gasp. “Mitch died?” The grieving never seemed to cease.

“He was stabbed by a raider.” Saying it out loud didn’t make the thought any easier to bear for either of them. “It feels like yesterday, and yet also a hundred years ago. I don’t think time really exists anymore,” Louis’s laugh was a stretch, a sign of his desperate attempt to go back to how things used to be.“Clem, I’ve really missed you.”

She hated how casually he said that. He had the power to make life so easy and simple. “Really? Well, you’ve never crossed my fucking mind,” She sounded so sure of herself like this was a universal truth. “Do you know what I’ve had to fight through?

“I’m trying to understand Clem-”

“There is no way you could understand. There’s no chance of reconciling here, not with everything that’s happened.” Clementine had him back up against a tree, her heart flaring in her chest.

Time had certainly eaten away at her spirit. “Talk about rubbing salt into a cut. Look, Clem, maybe we can help each other out...”

Clementine slammed his body into the tree, closing the gap as his spine tremored. “You’re no use to me!” Her words were laced with venom, seeping into his mind. It hurt, to see his dumb face. It never got easy, just tolerable. She backed away, shoving the knife into its designated pocket. She didn’t break away from Louis’s eyes, wondering if this was the last she’d be able to witness them, as she started turning her back to him one thought was running through her mind,

“I’ll never miss you.”

_Why was she lying?_   
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this a few months ago after I ended things with someone close to me. Reading back on it now, still kinda hurts.


	12. To The Ends Of The Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine, Louis and AJ scope out the nearby Shopping Centre, disappointed in their findings, until someone finds them.

Clementine shredded down the open road, the wind keeping the loose hairs out of her face. Driving always brought her peace, it reminded her of Kenny and the chats they would have behind the wheel.

"You know I hate being a backseat driver, but could you slow down? I'd like to get there in one piece." Louis chirped in from the backseat. Giving into Clementines wishes to drive the car was becoming an instant regret.

"And I'd like to get there quickly, we'll be fine."

Louis found it difficult to believe her as she skidded over a cracked roundabout.  _"Thank god for seat belts."_

"Are we almost there Clem?" That was the second time AJ had asked her, the annoyance in his voice clear as the sky ahead.

"We're so close, it's right at the end of the street." Clementine briefly glanced at the map sitting on her lap, scanning over the red line Aasim drew out for them.

AJ's question was properly answered when he spotted the towering grey building in the distance. It looked like a beast, never had he seen anything so vast. It kicked in his curiosity, giving his annoyance the boot.

Louis whistled in amazement. "I haven't been to this place in years. Forgot how big it was."

Clementine sloppily parked the car in the ground floor parking, running over a walker in the process. Her eyes scanned the area as she slowly exited the car. "We're good for now. You still got that list AJ?"

AJ dug around in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, bringing out a confident smile from Clem.

"It's your job to keep ahold of that, it's got all the stuff we need on it." Clementine passed Louis Chairles from the boot and hoisted her new baseball bat over her shoulder, closing the boot as quietly as possible.

_Javi would be proud._

Louis took a sneaky peek at the paper. "What are we looking for again? I wanna get in and get out like my grandma used to say. "

AJ squinted his eyes in an attempt to understand Clem's rushed handwriting. "Tape, bandages and fem..i..nine products." He considered his pronunciation a win. His vocabulary had improved vastly thanks to Aasim's teachings.

Louis playfully glanced at Clementine, wiggling his sharp eyebrows. "Does that include contraceptives?"

"Alright AJ, stay close." Clementine marched inside the building, blatantly ignoring Louis. They snuck through the gaping hole in the glass, not questioning the pool of blood nearby. There were a few dead bodies scattered around the floor, all had bullet holes in their head. Clementine held AJ close to her, shielding his eyes from the massacre.

The centre was poorly lit beside the unevenly placed lights on the ceiling. Many of the stores had been ransacked in the early days of the apocalypse, leaving behind a ghostly shell.

"I really don't like our odds," Clementine whispered into the stale space. "Keep your eyes peeled for the things we're looking for and anything else that could be useful."

"Imagine if people could peel their eyes, that would be so fucking funny. And gross." Louis could feel Clementine's stare on the back of his head, enjoying the attention he sought out, even with a joke that blatantly bad.

They crept down the hall the quickest they could, taking down all the monsters AJ pointed at. Eventually, they found the old food court, Louis's stomach rumbling on instinct.

"God I miss eating greasy food."

"My parents never really allowed it, only if we were coming home from a trip or if it was my birthday," She ran her finger over the layer of dust on a table, wondering how long it's been since the building had seen people. "We don't have time to waste, come on. Check everywhere."

"Hopefully Lady Luck is on our side," Louis swung Chairles back and forth, finding simple pleasure in the 'whoosh' noise. "So little dude, you know what a shopping mall is?"

"No," AJ was mesmerized by what he was seeing, even if it wasn't much. There were so many little rooms inside this one big building, but there were no medical bays, places to keep weapons, nothing. Just a lot of broken glass and ripped posters. "What were they like?"

"Well, people would come far and wide to great buildings like these. Some wanted to trade and barter for goods and services, others would scope out a hot meal FULL of preservatives," Louis could tell his story was working by the light that appeared in AJ's young eyes. "And sometimes, if you were very lucky, people would perform to earn a wage. They'd have instruments and sing for strangers. "

"Like you with the piano?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, I don't get paid for that."

Clementine easily took out a walker hiding beneath a table, appreciating the late notice from Louis.

"Hey, Clem there's a walker."

_What a great team._

"Maybe you can help and actually put Chairles to use," Clementine poked the nail-stricken chair leg with her bat. "I don't think the food court is going to help, come on. There should be a hardware store towards the back."

"Wait a second there Clem," Louis marched off into a store next to the sushi bar, a mattress store? "AJ check this out." There was still a single mattress in the corner of the room. Time had eaten it up, with holes in the side and large tears running down its spine. Louis placed Chairles against the frame, climbed onto the bed and...started...jumping... _fuck._

Clementine sighed, of course now is the time for him to start playing games. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Having fun, that is our team name after all. Come on AJ, I would do this when I was your age," He extended his arm to AJ, who hesitantly grabbed his hands and was hoisted onto the bed. "My dad made me stop doing it after I hurt myself."

"Oh my god, is that how you lost the tooth?"

Louis shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, let's not focus on such trivial tales."

Seeing AJ laugh at how high he was made Clementine forgive Louis for derailing their plan. She sat on the ground near the door, flicking back and forth between the food court and her two favourite people.

Louis eventually stopped and leaned against the wall, letting AJ bounce to his heart's content. "You would have been real swell at High Jump! Could have been an Olympian."

AJ jumped off after a couple minutes, complaining about how his feet were hurting.

"Given the state of the bed, can't blame you. Did you have fun?" Clementine asked as AJ fixed up his shoelaces.

"Yeah, but now we need to check the hardware store."

"Always a diligent little worker," Louis hoisted Chairles over his shoulder, feeling a sense of pride at giving AJ some fun. The kid deserves it after all he's been through. "Holy shit."

Louis was like a child in a toy store, getting distracted by every little thing. Across from the mattress store was a music store, a few stray CD's could be seen on the shelves.

"Louis we don't have time to look at old music."

He ignored Clementine as he ran to the store, immediately grabbing the first CD he saw. "I haven't seen a CD in years. My mom used to collect them and whenever her and dad got into a fight she'd haul my ass into the car and play some songs." Louis ran a sleeve over the CD, removing the dust and revealing the band.

Now Clementine was excited. "Oh my god-"

"-Roy Orbison!"

AJ didn't understand why Louis was so hyped up by a bunch of plastic cases. The faces of people who were long gone scared him with their heavy makeup and shiny hair. "What are these?"

Louis kneeled down to AJ, flashing the CD. "This, my little friend, is how people listened to music. This disc holds songs and when put into a player, magic happens." He passed it down to AJ, who read over the tracks.

"My dad loved Roy Orbison. Always had his Greatest Hits CD in the car." Clementine glanced at some of the other CD's, surprised at how many were actually left behind. Then again, CD's wouldn't have much use.

Louis gave Clem a cheeky smirk, giving into his temptations. "Pretty woman...walking down the street,"

The way he whispered sent shivers down Clementine's spine as her eyes grew in astonishment.

"Pretty woman...the kind I'd like to meet, pretty woman," His singing started to grow a little louder and more dramatic, typical Louis fashion. "I don't believe you, you're not the truth." He pointed at Clementine, motioning for her to keep going.

"No one could look as good as you," She sang softly, looking at the ground in embarrassment. She never thought her voice was as good as Louis, yet he seemed to enjoy it by the beaming smile that replaced his smirk.

"Didn't take you for a Roy Orbison fan," He started to question what kind of music Clem would actually be into.

"There's a lot you still don't know about me," Clementine took a step out of her comfort zone and winked at Louis this time. The rosy tint that painted the tips of his ears was so worth it. "Come on AJ, let's go now. No more distractions."

It was lucky of the group that Aasim remembered the layout of the old place. It had been heavily ransacked during the first few weeks of the breakout. Mitch had heard rumours from other survivors that people were living there,  _"fucking freaks they are, haven't seen sane people in ages,"_  He says.

The hardware store was massive and a little too quiet. The grey shelves seemed to only hold dust and crumbs, a rude wake-up call to Team Fun.

Louis ran his fingers over a dead sunflower, crunching the leaf in his palm. "I'm going to bet my money on no supplies. Any takers?"

Clementine knew he was right, if people had been staying here they certainly didn't leave much behind. I'll try and find some tools, maybe we'll get lucky."

"Alrighty, I'll check out the fishing gear. Violet could use some proper traps. If anything happens-"

"-Run like the wind," Clementine gave Louis a reassuring smile, knowing how much he hated splitting up. It was dangerous but necessary if they wanted to keep the trip short. They walked off in their separate directions, AJ close to Clem's side, his hand firmly holding onto his gun. "Keep an eye out kiddo, we don't know who could be hiding here."

He took her words to heart, looking in every direction. Twice. The tools were located in Aisle 3, empty boxes hid beneath the steel shelves, all ripped apart by hands desperate to survive. All that was left was a screwdriver and three nails lying innocently on the bottom shelf. "Thank you," Clementine whispered, not sure of who she was actually thanking. "It may not look like much, but a Screwdriver has saved my life before."

AJ picked it up and wiped the dust onto his pants. "Screwdriver. It's small."

"But it works."

The sound of heavy boots on the wooden floor sent Clementine into immediate attack mode. They didn't sound anything like Louis's shoes did, his tended to squeak. AJ saw the slight panic in her eyes, going into his own attack stance. Clementine placed a finger over her lips, something AJ learned at a very young age what it meant.

Why did Mitch have to be right?

Clementine began to push AJ away from the oncoming stranger, eager to get Louis and run.

"Oi! What are you doing?"

_Fucking hell._

"AJ run!" Clementine shouted, pushing him in the direction of the fishing aisle. The little kid bolted like there was no tomorrow, kicking up dust behind his feet. A broken shriek escaped from Clementine when she felt a sweaty hand grab at her own. She was slammed against the shelves, her head hitting the edge.

"You think you can come here and take my shit!" It was an old man, his tobacco stained fingers digging into Clementine's wrists.

The man had her wrists pinned above her head. He stared into her eyes, trying to figure out if she was hiding something. "Do you have anyone else here or is it just you?

"Just me, I don't have anyone else," Clementine hoped with every fibre of her being that AJ and Louis were both safe. "Let me go and I won't come back I promise."

He seemed reluctant to let her go, gripping her wrists tighter. "How can I be so sure of that? That last time I trusted someone they came back with a group, took the last of my shit and killed my son," He didn't break eye contact with Clementine, somehow dominating the small space. "I let you go, you'll come back. I know it."

"I won't! I swear."

The man let go of Clementine's wrists briefly, the pain instantly fleeting. But his hands moved down to her neck, the air around her growing thin.

The strength he was exhibiting was inhuman, her sight fading as the man blended with her surroundings. She clawed at his sweaty hands, wondering at how they got so calloused. She didn't have long to wonder before she heard a loud yell, the man being tackled down by a blurry figure.

Clementine fell to the floor, her palms stinging from the impact. She looked over and saw Louis on top of the man, pinning his chest down with Chairles. The spikes were digging into his skin, blood oozing through his clothes. Clementine tried to stand on her legs but they crumbled under her weight.

AJ ran up to the man and shot him right in the knee without even blinking.

"Guys....stop." Clementine croaked. Hurting this guy would do more harm than good.

"You said you had no one else!" The man shouted, hands frantically swiping at Louis.

"This kid is a good shot," Louis pushed himself off the cowering man, standing tall against him, aiming Chairles at his face. "You come after us and he'll aim higher."

Never had he spoken with such a demeaning tone, it came from somewhere deep in his gut where he locked away all his fears. Louis looped her arm over his shoulder, helping to guide her feet, AJ didn't put the gun away till they were out of the store, keeping himself alert.

They slowly walked back to the carpark, not mentioning the ordeal that fell upon them. AJ sat patiently in the car, playing with the screwdriver. Louis took Clementine's bat from her and threw it into the boot alongside a bloodied Chairles.

"I've never seen you so angry before, are you okay?" Louis never handled Chairles with such blatant disregard. That and he wasn't even making eye contact with her.

"No, I'm not, how can I be? One minute I'm looking at fishing nets, the next I see this shithead strangling you. You could have died."

"Stop thinking that, worse things have happened to me." Getting bit by a dog, getting shot in the chest, losing a finger. They all definitely make her list of 'worst injuries'.

"It's still a bad thing Clem," Louis carefully closed the boot. He wasn't one to start slamming and breaking things when he was frustrated. Not like his dad. "It was just scary, that's all."

It couldn't have been said any simpler. The man who held her had nothing to lose, not anymore. To have such a blatant disregard....it's a state of humanity that few people survive from. "We should have stayed together, you were right."

Louis didn't say anything, nothing needed to be said. He quickly walked over to Clem and held her in his arms, thankful that he still has that luxury of holding her this close, thankful that she was alive.

She buried her face in the fluffy lining of his coat, clenching the fabric between her hands. "Thank you for helping."

"You say that as if I wouldn't," Louis couldn't help but eye down the door, searching for anyone else who dared pose a threat. "I'd never leave you, Clementine."

 


	13. Anyway The Wind Blows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the eve of Marlon's death, Louis grieves the only way he knows how.

His teary eyes bore into the piano keys, all his years of training had up and vanished. What was the point of playing? It never brought him any good in the past. The lightning outside crackled, almost as if it was laughing at his grief.

"You could have saved him," It hissed. "You didn't try hard enough."  
  
Louis shook his head of such thoughts. "Stop it," He whispered into the cold night. There was nothing that could be done, right? The rain hammered against the window, some of it even leaked through the cracks. "It's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not...your fault," He said it like it was a spell, one to keep the monsters away.

Marlon was really gone. Ten years of friendship just whisked away by a single bullet. Their youth was filled with days playing Tag under the sun, drawing pictures of their favourite superheroes in art when they were supposed to be learning about Van Gogh. What went wrong?

_Oh right, the world went to complete shit._

**-**

_The teacher dialled through the channels, going through all of them before reluctantly landing on one. Louis noticed how the kid sitting next to him tapped his foot along to the song, a classic. However, he still didn't seem too thrilled to be in the eerie room._

_He was 'the new kid', a shiny toy the other kids gathered around. His scruffy blonde hair was poking in every different direction and his head was buried in the crook of his elbow._

_Louis leaned over, making sure not to get the teacher's attention. "Hey, psst," He whispered sharply, the blonde boy instantly raising his head. "You okay? Is this your first time in detention?"_

_"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. And missing home." He mumbled the part about home to himself as if it was taboo._

_"I'm Louis." He smiled, an attempt to comfort the anxious boy._

_"Marlon." The blonde boy returned the smile, eager to finally make a decent friend._

**-**

Her body twisted and turned, trying to find a spot on the bed that was decently comfortable. Clementine looked over at AJ, somehow the kid had managed to find sleep. His simple mind wasn't aware of the damage going on, all created by him.

_The power of one fucking bullet._

Clementine sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away the image of Marlon from her mind. His blood had dried on her hands, her skin a sickening shade of red. She had witnessed death before, far too many times, but this time felt so much worse.

And when the ghostly sound of a piano filled her room she understood why.

_Louis._

_God, he didn't deserve this._

She found herself jumping to her feet when she heard his voice, it was as faint as ever, but it was his. And the pain it carried travelled throughout the whole school.

**-**

_"C'mon Vi, be nice. The kid's new." Louis threw a grape at Violet, she deserves it after glaring at Marlon. However, with her talents, the girl caught it in her mouth._

_Violet glared at him. She had only been friend with Louis for a few months and he was already annoying. Jeez. "I am being nice Lou, I just want to get to know him," She turned her attention back to a nervous Marlon. "Why are you at Ericson?"_

_Marlon danced his fork around the scraps of food on his plate. "Uh, my step-dad said it's cause I annoy him, but mom said it's cause I just get angry sometimes. 'Too passionate' she says." It was his step-dads idea to send him to the school after a particular issue with Marlon. The poor boy didn't do anything, he was only trying to protect his mom._

_"Sorry dude. You're welcome here though, this is our lunch table. Our kingdom!" Louis shouted, slamming his hands against the wooden table._

_Aasim rolled his eyes. "You don't have to do that every time." He just wanted to enjoy his sandwich in peace, was that too much to ask?_

_"But it's fun," Louis whined dramatically. "Don't worry Marlon, we'll be friends forever."_

_It was a beautiful promise that made Marlon's heart glow. "Cool, I like that."_

**-**

Clementine took slow steps down the hall, following the music. It was a familiar tune, a song she was certain that her mom had played in the car before. Before she knew it, Clem was standing out front of Louis's piano room, the song escaping through the gap in the door. She took a peek inside, seeing him hunched over the piano, his fingers dancing along the keys.

"Too late, my time has come."

She stopped in her tracks, her selfish side wanting to hear more of him, wanting to bask in the passion he delivered.

His eyes were closed, his fingers moving without hesitation. "Sent shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time," Louis tried to erase what he saw outside. The blood, the way Marlon's body fell like a ragdoll. He wanted it all gone, all of it. "Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go. Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth."

He slammed on the keys, his desperation growing and growing. Clementine saw the way his fingers were clenched, how he was now standing over the piano, controlling it.

"Mama, ooh, I don't want to die," Tears welled in Louis's eyes as he felt himself start to come back down to earth. A world without his best friend, without his guidance.

"I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all..." He whispered with a crackly voice that could bring the thunder to his knees.

Clementine stood breathless behind the door, her own tears running down her cheeks. He sang with such determination as if the song would show him the way to go. There was power in it, raw anger that Louis buried long ago. He slowly sat back down on the creaky seat, his fingers slid off the keys and hung lifelessly beside him. She wandered into the room, pulling pulled a force that continuously brought her back to Louis. He let her sit beside him, not wanting to be alone anymore.

"It was his favourite song." He whispered.

All Clementine did was give him a soft nod. "I'm so sorry Louis."

"I know." He accepted her truth, but it wasn't enough to set him free.

 


	14. C+L

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine tries to explain to AJ what love is and ends up explaining her feelings for Louis.

There was something about the music, the way it filled every crevice and crack, that excited AJ. It was his first every party, it seemed like a new realm. The walls no longer appeared to be caked in grime and dried blood but rather a lovely shade of purple. “Jazz” as Clem had called it, made AJ want to twirl around in circles till he fell from the dizziness.

“Why is it called jazz?” He asked Louis, the man seemed to know the most about music.

Louis was tapping his feet along to the tune, he would have preferred classical but Clem was bobbing her head along in time with his feet, so it was worth it. “I think it’s slang that translates to ‘spirit’ or ‘vigor’ from the 1860s’.”

“It sounds cool, I like it.” AJ smiled as he began to bop his head along with Clem. Team Fun had somehow become a dance trio. “Hey Clem, can we dance?” He twirled the tip of his toe into the floor, nerves bouncing through him.

Clementine beamed. “Of course goofball.” She gently took AJ by his little hand and swung him into the centre of the room. “Do you want to lead?”

AJ blinked slowly. “Lead?”

“Here, stand on my feet,” AJ did as he was told, his toes poking Clem’s ankles. “I’ll lead us this time. One day I’ll teach you how to dance properly.” She began to sway slowly back and forth, stepping around in tiny circles.

AJ giggled as the room swirled, the other kids becoming a blur. “Why do people dance Clem?’

“Some people find it fun, others do it to show their love for another person.” Her eyes fluttered over to Louis, who was leaning against the side of his piano, his smile bursting with pure light as he watched Clementine.

“Love? There other kinds of love?”

Clementine nodded. “There are many reasons to love someone AJ. For their looks, personality, sometimes their status-”

“-what’s that?”

“It’s like how popular you are. Sometimes people only love others for how well known they are, which isn’t fair.”

AJ soaked in the knowledge. “So there are wrong reasons to love someone?”

She lifted up his body and spun him around in the air. “Yeah, there are. Promise me that if you ever fall in love it’ll be for the right reasons.”

The idea of being in love never crossed AJ’s mind. He loved Clem, wasn’t that enough? “But how will I know?”

Clementine gazed into his large eyes, they twinkled like the lights around them. “Because you’ll want to do everything you can for that person. You’ll want to see them happy, even in a world like this.”

AJ smirked, happy in the fact that his love for Clem was right. Seeing her happy, after everything they had been through together, was enough for AJ to be happy also.

Her toes began to pinch beneath his weight, he was heavier than she originally thought. “Hey AJ, can we stop for a bit?”

“Okay,” He huffed, hopping back onto the solid ground. AJ caught Louis smiling at Clementine, he appeared to be caught in some kind of dream. AJ shifted his focus onto the grand piano, maybe Louis could play a song for everyone? His eyes travelled along the keys till he noticed a peculiar shape in the wood. “Clem, what’s that on the piano?”

She turned to where his finger was pointing, her blood going cold as her eyes focused on the carving. Her special carving from a special night. “Oh, it’s...uh…”

“What’s C+L?”

Clementine frantically waved her hand at Louis, snapping him out of his fantasy world. She directed her head towards the piano, trying to articulate what she was trying to point out. He understood alright, biting his lip softly.

“C+L?” Now it was Ruby’s turn to be curious, she set down the mystery crate and crept up alongside Clementine. “What does that mean?”

Louis tried to stifle his laughter. “Do you want to tell them or shall I grace them with the news?”

_Goddamn him and his nonchalant nature._

By now all the other kids had gathered around the piano. “Tell us what?” AJ asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Clem and Louis, his patience was wearing thin.

Clementine wanted to sink into her hat and hide. This was not how she wanted to tell the others, especially AJ. “Louis and I...you could say that we’re a thing now.” She flinched when Ruby squealed in her ear.

“When did this happen?!”

“That’s crazy!”

“This is amazing.”

She looked across at Louis, who was nodding along to what their friends had to say. It was crazy and utterly amazing. “I’d say it’s more than ‘a thing’. It happened the night the raiders came, this charmer admitted her burning feelings for me.” Louis placed a hand over his heart and squeezed at his shirt lightly.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” She rebuffed his lies. “You’re the one who named a song after me.”

The hopeless romantic in Ruby was absolutely bounding around inside her heart. “Y’all are adorable!”

“I can’t believe Louis got a girlfriend!” Willy shouted. Him and Mitch would joke for hours on how Louis would be the last of the group to find a girl, let alone one who would be remotely interested in him.

Clementine raised an eyebrow at her small friend. “Girlfriend?”

“You bet your ass Willy.” Louis hollered, the death stare from Clem was worth it.

AJ tried to figure it out. He loved Clem, so did Louis love her in the same way? Did he love her for her personality? Was she considered pretty to him? “Do you love Clem?”

Louis almost choked on nothing, coughing up his buried embarrassment. “I know that I like her, a lot. Who knows what the future holds little dude.”

Clementine held her own hand and gave it a tight squeeze as the room filled with a choir of “Ooooooo”.

AJ was still confused. Maybe this was a type of love that Clem hadn’t explained yet. “So you two like each other, like Violet and Minnie did?”

A hush fell over the room as the kids eyed down Clementine and Louis. “Yeah AJ. Violet and Minnie were dating, just like Clem and I are.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” Ruby pat Clem on the back. “Somehow you two managed to find romance in the middle of all this. That’s darn impressive.”

Clementine felt a wave of peace come over her, no one was turning it into as big of a deal as she thought. “You guys are taking this better than I thought.”

“Well, we had a feeling,” Tenn mumbled. “You guys act the same way Minnie and Violet did when they were first dating.”

“God, we’re not that obvious,” The unconvinced glances didn’t cure the sinking feeling in her stomach. “Right?” Clementine never expected to have her feelings exposed like this, by a child nonetheless.

Louis ran a hand through his hair. “If you didn’t want to be obvious why did you carve our initials in a heart on my piano?” Now it was his turn to tease his sweet Clem.

There was so explanation, her words spluttered out of her mouth. Clementine couldn’t lie to herself, Louis and his devilish charms were part of the reason as to why she likes him, why she wants the world to know that they belong together. There was also his kind heart, unique sense of humour...out of this world good looks...wait what point was she trying to make again?

“Alright let’s leave these two alone now,” Ruby turned back to the box set upon the ground and sat beside it. “I found them. Okay Clementine, these here are our official Ericson’s psych evaluations and probationary reports."

Clementine stood over her, eyeing the box. “Okay.”

“I don’t get it.” Said AJ with a cross look on his face. What was the big deal about a box full of papers?

“Well, these explain why all of us got sent to this school in the first place.” Despite the information that some of the records held, Ruby was keen to go down memory lane.

Louis nabbed himself a spot on the floor. “And how we got stuck here for as long as we did.”

“So, what’s the game?” Clementine humoured Ruby and sat beside Louis.

“I figured if we’re all going on this crazy mission together, you might as well know who we really are. Especially now that Louis is your  _boyfriend_.” Ruby winked at the lovebirds.

Louis gazed at Clem, appreciating how the purple light fell upon her face. “Boyfriend and girlfriend, I like the sound of that.”

 


End file.
